The Way It Could Have Been
by miraleeann
Summary: Half way through his first year at Hogwarts Harry meets and is adopted by Sirius. This is a story of how their life could have been together. Spanking.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: First of all this is my first time at trying my hand at writing Harry Potter fan fiction so it may completely suck and if it does, feel free to tell me...nicely. Constructive criticism is a good thing. Secondly this story will not follow the books though some of the same events will take place. And finally it will contain some cp, namely spanking, so if that isn't your thing you've been warned.**

_The weather matched his mood perfectly. It was grey and rainy with a flash of lightning or a loud boom of thunder every so often yet hot and humid. So humid that if you were outside you would wonder if your hair was sticking to your neck because of the humidity or the rain. It was a typical thunderstorm that sometimes brewed when the weather just became too hot. _

_Harry sat on his bed starring at the floor. Yesterday a strange letter had arrived addressed to his Aunt. She rarely got letters in the mail. Her mail usually consisted of invitations or magazines relating to home and garden work. Everything else came addressed to his Uncle. Harry knew this for a fact because it was on of his many jobs to get the mail everyday. _

_He had picked up the mail yesterday and was carrying it into the kitchen when he noticed the strange letter. What was especially strange about it wasn't that it was addressed to his Aunt but that it was addressed to his Aunt in the kitchen. It actually said _

**Petunia Dursley**

**Number 4 Pivet Drive**

**In the kitchen**

_His eyes were about to skim to the return address when his Aunt's cold, boney fingers snatched the mail out of his hands. _

_Harry figured she must have thought it was pretty strange too because as he watched her read it she literally went white and then screamed at him to go weed the garden. _

_Things only got stranger as the day went on. Not even an hour after his Uncle returned home from work Harry was given a new bedroom, or rather his cousin's second bedroom. The first nine years of his life were spent in a broom closet under the stairs and now out of the blue he had a whole room, all to himself._

_He had awoken this morning thinking, hoping that his life would be different now. That his Aunt and Uncle had somehow changed. That considering it was his eleventh birthday, he might have some presents or at the very least a cake. But nothing had changed._

_No one had even acknowledged his birthday. It had been another usual day full of chores. And now on the night of his birthday, he had been sent to his room for no reason what-so-ever. He had been minding his own business, doing the supper dishes when his Uncle had told him to go to his room._

_Harry sighed to himself. It had been foolish of him to think that anything would change. A bedroom did not mean things would be different. He fought back the urge to cry. He had decided long ago that the Dursleys would not make him cry, no matter what they did to him. They had never acknowledged any of his birthdays, so this one should not cause him to cry._

_He jerked his head up as thunder crashed outside. Yes, the weather matched his mood perfectly. Sad, hurt, and angry. _

_His anger grew as he brushed a stray tear out of the corner of his eye. Knock it off, his brain screamed, why do you care? They don't care about you! Just knock it off and suck it up!_

_They were all downstairs. He could picture the scene perfectly in his head; it was the same every night. His Uncle was sitting in his large reclining chair reading the newspaper. Aunt Petunia was sitting across from him on the couch doing a needlepoint or reading a magazine and Dudley was of course stuffing his face with his several helping of dessert. _

_He lied back on the hard bed telling himself that he should just go to sleep. Nevermind the fact that it was only seven in the evening. If he just went to sleep now his birthday would be over by the time he woke. _

_However, the moment his eyes closed he heard his Uncle shouting about something or rather someone downstairs._

_"Get out of my house at once!"_

_Harry sat up quickly. Had someone broken in? Were they being robbed?_

_He crept quietly towards the door listening closely for anything that may tell him what exactly was going on._

_"We won't have him associated with you lot! We decided long ago that this would not happen!"_

_Was it someone for Dudley? But who would Dudley not be allowed to be associated with? _

_"Do not go trapping through my house! I will not stand for it!" _

_The voices were growing closer now and without even realizing it Harry took several steps back from the door and just in time too as the door suddenly swung open to reveal both his Uncle red faced and angry and a rather large man, scruffy and unusual._

_"I need to talk to the boy!" The large man growled at Vernon before turning to face Harry. _

_Harry looked up at him with curiosity._

_"Arry", the man said, "I'm Hagrid."_

_

* * *

_

_"I'm sure you are wondering why I called you here,' the older wizard said calmly as he sat behind his desk._

_"Sir- Professor we...we had to save Hermione we couldn't just leave her with a troll. I know it was wrong but-"_

_Dumbeldore held up a hand as he peered down over his half moon spectacles. "My dear boy while I don't commend what happened with the troll the situation has been dealt with and that is not why I called you here."_

_"It's not?"_

_"It isn't."_

_Harry sat back in the large chair and breathed a long sigh of relief. He was sure that he had been called to the Headmasters office because of what had happened the previous night. Sure that he was going to be expelled not even two months into his new life. Sent back to the Dursleys for good._

_"I have called you here for this meeting because there is something that you need to know. When your parents had you they appointed you a Godfather, Sirius Black."_

_"I have a Godfather?"_

_Dumbledore nodded smiling slightly. "You do Harry. When Voldermort took your parents lives Sirius was deeply distraught as was expected however, he wanted to adopt you the very next day and make a life for the two of you. Unfortunately due to magic law and complications it was decided that you would live with your Aunt and Uncle until you became old enough to attend Hogwarts and make a decision for yourself."_

_"A decision for myself?" Harry hated himself for sounding so stupid, for asking such stupid questions but he was honestly flabbergasted at what he was hearing._

_"Yes Harry a decision for yourself. Sirius Black is your Godfather and you are now a pupil of Hogwarts and in my opinion more than capable of making an intelligent decision." Dumbledore smiled warmly. _

_"You mean Sirius Black could...you mean he would...-"_

_"If you want and only if you want, Sirius Black could be your guardian and you could live with him when you aren't here at Hogwarts. However if you are happy living with your Aunt and Uncle then you can easily stay with them."_

_Harry felt his heart soar. He didn't know this Sirius bloke of course...his Godfather but he had to be better than the Dursleys right? Unless of course he wasn't._

_"But Professor I don't know Sirius Black."_

_"Oh heavens", Dumbeldore chuckled, "Of course you don't. Forgive me Harry; I got a bit ahead of myself. Of course you would be able to meet him, several times if you like before you make a decision. There is no need to make a decision now or even very soon as there are months ahead of you at Hogwarts before summer holidays come around."_

_"When can I meet him?" Harry couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice. He had a Godfather. That was almost like having a real family. Of course he guessed the Dursleys were more related to him but they weren't his family. Not in any way, shape, or form._

_"I spoke to him earlier today and he can meet you as early as this evening if you like."_

_Harry nodded quickly. _

_"Very well then, I'll make the arrangements and you can come back to my office say after supper?"_

_He nodded once more. "Can you tell me anything about him Professor?"_

_"Sirius Black was once my pupil at Hogwarts," Dumbledore smiled warmly; "During his days here he was one of your father's closest friends. I daresay that Mr. Weasley and yourself remind me much of him and your father. Your grandparents actually adopted Sirius when he was young as his parents were not the kindest of people. Sirius has a kind heart and I think that you two will take to each other splendidly."_

_

* * *

_

_He was still chewing his last forkful of pie as he stood in front of the statue. He swallowed hard, almost bringing tears to his eyes before he blurted out, "Lemon Drops" bringing the statue to move and the staircase to reveal itself. He took the stairs two at a time slowing down to knock on the door._

_"You may enter."_

_Taking a deep breath he slowly pushed the door open. _

_"Harry my dear boy, did you inhale your supper?" Dumbeldore chuckled from his position behind his desk._

_A younger looking wizard turned in his seat, pushing his dark hair out of his eyes._

_"Harry."_

_Harry nodded at the man._

_He leaped from his seat immediately embracing him in a hug, "I've waited years for this day. You are the spitting image of your father. Except for the eyes, you've got-"_

_"My mother's eyes," Harry cut him off smiling, "I know, I hear it alot."_

_The three of them sat for over an hour. Dumbeldore listening and smiling as the Harry and Sirius got acquainted with one another. Sirius had a hundred stories about James as well as Lily and Harry didn't grow tired of hearing them. They could have sat and talked all night possibly longer but Dumbeldore cleared his throat loudly after an hour and a half._

_"I hate to be the one to break up such a sweet reunion but it is growing late and I'm sure Harry has homework that needs to be done. However, we can schedule another visit quite soon, perhaps the day after tomorrow."_

_Sirius nodded quickly. "I'm available whenever you have time Harry."_

_"Professor...Sirius...I've already made my decision. I want to be with Sirius, I don't want to go back to the Dursleys."_

* * *

_"As Harry will be coming to spend the Christmas holiday with you there are several things I felt it wise to discuss. I know that you love Harry Sirius and that you want what is best for him so I hope that you will take into consideration all that we discuss tonight."_

_"Of course", Sirius leaned back in the chair across from the Headmaster's desk. "I hold your opinion in high regards, you must know that."_

_"Thank you my dear boy." Dumbeldore smiled though his smile slowly faded as he paused several seconds before continuing. "Harry has much to live up to in his life though he is not aware of it all yet. He has already dealt with so much in his young life, losing his parents so young affected him greatly as did living with his Aunt and Uncle."_

_"I'm not following."_

_"They were not kind to him," Dumbeldore stated simply and as he did he saw the color change on Sirius' face. "They did not physically abuse him," Dumbeldore reassured him, "However emotionally they gave him nothing and as a result of this and though Harry may not admit it or even see it, I find him to be delicate in a sense."_

_Sirius nodded as he took this information in._

_"I'm not saying this to frighten you Sirius, only so that you are aware. Harry needs love and guidance above anything else. He reminds me much of his father as well as yourself. I've only had him here at Hogwarts for a few months and already I can see he has a knack for mischief."_

_Sirius suppressed a chuckle at this. Apparently his looks aren't the only thing he inherited from his father, he thought._

_Dumbeldore smiled kindly but spoke in a slightly firm voice, "Guidance Sirius, he needs guidance."_

_Forcing his face to be as serious as it possibly could he nodded quickly. "I understand. I can handle it."_

* * *

**Six Months Later**

The sun was hot on his back and neck as he flew high above the treetops. He wasn't really supposed to be flying. He was supposed to be working on his homework. At least that was what Remus had instructed him to do. Remus was keeping an eye on him, not babysitting as Sirius had been so quick to point out, while Sirius was at Hogwarts for a meeting with Dumbeldore. But Remus was inside reading and Harry knew that Sirius would understand. It was too nice out to waste the day doing a five foot essay for that greasy git Snape. Harry belonged outside, enjoying the weather and his firebolt. After all, Sirius had given him the broom for Christmas of course he wanted Harry to enjoy it. And besides Remus thought he was working in his room and he'd be back long before he realized that the boy was far above his room.

He quickly turned on his broom deciding to take a quick ride over the lake behind the house before heading back in his bedroom window.

Dipping down lower and lower he felt the freedom that he associated with his broom. Freedom from his old life, from the Dursleys.

It was such a different experience living with Sirius. True, summer holidays had really only just begun a week ago and living with Sirius was still very new but he had spent Christmas with him and that had been amazing.

The two of them had stayed up every night talking until the wee hours of the morning about Sirius' days at Hogwarts. Harry had learned that his Godfather along with his dad knew several secret passages in and out of the castle. He had also inherited a map from his Godfather that showed all these passages along with everyone in the castle at any given moment. Of course that map had gotten him into some trouble at school. Dumbeldore, Professor McGonagall, and Snape hadn't been happy when he was caught sneaking a baby dragon out of the castle. Nor had they been happy when he had gone looking for the Sorcerer's Stone and ended up fighting off Voldermort in the process. Harry was actually pretty sure that the meeting Sirius was at night had to do with the Sorcerer's Stone but he knew his Godfather would understand.

The night of the dragon escape Snape told Harry that if he had been his Godson he would be sorrier then he had ever been in his life. McGonagall took about a million house points from Gryffindor. And Dumbeldore, though he seemed sorry he had to do so, wrote a long letter to Sirius explaining the situation.

Harry was sure he was done for. Hermione was in tears over disappointing teachers and even offered to write an essay on why what they did was wrong. Dumbeldore also wrote a letter to each of their parents and it was then that Ron became panicked as he confided in his best mate that his mother would probably take a spoon to him.

It was Harry's first real experience with being in trouble and having a real parent like person to answer to for it. He dreaded Sirius reading that letter. He was sure that Sirius would decide that Harry was simply too much trouble and back out of the whole adoption idea.

Sirius responded to the letter though by writing a letter to Harry, a letter in which he congratulated him for helping Hagrid and for being a good friend. He had even told Harry that his father would be proud of his actions.

Hermione had turned up her nose at the letter. She kept her thoughts to herself but it was obvious she disapproved though Harry felt that she was simply jealous. Ron had only one thought about the letter, "wicked."

Yes, Harry was sure Sirius was meeting with Dumbeldore because of the stone but he was also sure that Sirius would be proud of Harry for taking the initiative to go find the thing and for handling Voldermort so well. He was so sure in fact that he circled over the lake and flew back in the opposite direction away from the house, once more across and back would suit him just fine.

**TBC....**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thank you SO much to the people who reviewed or added this story to their favorite's or to an update alert. I really appreciate the encouragment. **

* * *

Remus Lupin sat in a large comfortable chair, he had been reading intently but he stopped when he noticed how quiet the house had been. True, he had asked Harry to work on homework but what eleven year old did homework so quietly in the summer? He hadn't missed the look of disappointment in Harry's eyes when he had told him to do some of his homework. Actually, Harry was probably expecting to do something fun with him while Sirius was out for a few hours.

Remus sighed to himself feeling guilty. He could have easily spent the day spending time with the boy. After all, he loved and cared for Harry very much. He had only suggested homework because he would bet all his gold that Sirius wouldn't even think of suggesting it. He knew Sirius, possibly better then Sirius knew himself, and he knew that homework was the last thing on Sirius' mind. However, he also knew that September would creep up fast and that come September 1, Harry's homework would have to be done. He could vividly see Harry on August 31 up until all hours of the night trying to finish several long essays. Harry may not realize it now but one day he would thank Remus for making him spend a few hours of a summer day doing assignments.

But Harry had already been working for over an hour. Surely the boy deserved a break. He could go up there and offer to play a game of chess with him or even to play around outside.

Remus nodded to himself as he put his book down, that's exactly what he would do.

Smiling he climbed the stairs to Harry's room and once there he knocked softly on the door. He stood there for several seconds before noting that perhaps he had knocked too softly and he knocked once more slightly louder. Still, no answer.

He chuckled to himself as he turned the handle. The boy must have fallen asleep, he thought, that's why it's been so quiet.

He walked into the room to find it empty and panic immediately set in.

"Harry," he called out loudly more towards the open door. He must have gone downstairs to get a drink or something, he told himself. However, there was no answer.

"Harry!" He called louder.

Still no answer.

Remus was now in full panic mode. His mind immediately went to horrible scenarios in which Voldermort or one of his followers had somehow broken through the magic surrounding this house and gotten to Harry and then he noticed the wide open window and the firebolt missing from its spot next to the bed.

Remus quickly stepped to the window and stuck his head out gazing into the sky though he saw nothing.

"Bloody menace", he growled to himself as he shut the window and locked it. "He wants to go out flying does he? Thinks he can just do what he pleases? Well he can find another way back into this house."

"Harry? Remus?" The familiar voice hollered from downstairs.

Remus turned away from the window and quickly retreated down the steps.

"Remus you look upset," Sirius noted the moment he saw his old friend, "Everything alright? Where's Harry? I picked him up some chocolate frogs while I was out."

"Harry is out flying," Remus replied in an angry tone, "I asked him to do some homework and he flew out his window without my permission or knowledge."

Sirius chuckled softly, "its fine. It's a beautiful day out and Harry doesn't need permission to go flying."

Remus raised an eyebrow astounded by Sirius' laid back attitude but swallowed his comments as he quickly changed the subject, "How was the meeting with Dumbeldore?"

"Fine," Sirius shrugged, "He was concerned about something Harry did but he really shouldn't be, if anything he should be proud of the boy."

Remus was almost scared to ask but he did anyway. "What did Harry do?"

"He and his friends went and found the Sorcerer's Stone; he ended up fighting off Voldermort as well or a form of him anyway. I tell you Remus, that Godson of mine has got his parents skills, imagine fighting off Voldermort at eleven years old."

"He did what?" There was no missing the utter disgust in Remus' tone, the sound of complete amazement.

"I know", Sirius nodded, "Amazing isn't it?"

"Not at all Sirius! What is amazing is that Harry is still alive! You don't see anything wrong in what he has done?"

"You're overreacting. He had a hunch that he could get the stone and he did and he is fine, more than fine."

"I think you are under reacting! He puts his life at risk you and buy him chocolate frogs as a reward? Do you honestly think that's what James and Lily would do? Is that what James' father would have done if you or James ever pulled such a stunt?" Remus' voice was growing louder now and he didn't care.

"I am not James or Lily!"

"You are the closest thing to them that Harry has," Remus replied, "He looks up to you and expects you to help him make good decisions and here you are acting as if he is a friend and not a child."

"He's eleven!"

"I know exactly how old Harry is and that is my point, he is eleven, just a boy, a child and a child needs rules and boundaries and consequences to actions!"

"Oh stop Remus," Sirius chuckled, "You sound old."

"We **are** old Sirius! We are adults! And you need to start acting like one! What do you think will happen the next time Harry considers putting his life on the line if you reward him for doing so this time? And how will you feel if he does in fact puts his life on the line again and winds up hurt or worse."

""He won't," Sirius sighed, "I'm going to talk to him about it."

"Over a few chocolate frogs? Going to sit there and tell him stories about how we all did the same thing in our day?"

"Well didn't we?"

"That is beside the point! We may have done those things but we were punished for them! Tell me Sirius what would have happened had you pulled a stunt like this? What would Harry's grandfather have said or done?"

Sirius blushed slightly as he thought back on the times he had gotten in trouble while staying with the Potters. He knew exactly what Harry's grandfather would have done but there was no way in hell he would be doing that to Harry.

"It isn't the same," Sirius protested.

"And why isn't it? He wasn't your father yet he still disciplined you and you loved and respected him did you not?"

Sirius had to admit he did love and respect Mr. Potter, much more then he respected his own father but it still wasn't the same. He couldn't bring himself to discipline Harry, he just couldn't.

"It just isn't Remus," he finally answered in a low voice.

Remus sighed loudly as he picked up his book and headed for the fireplace. "He is your godson Sirius and it's your decision but I will tell you now, I think you are going about this in the wrong way. I think that if James were here, he wouldn't congratulate his son for putting his life in jeopardy and I think you know that I am right."

And with that he was gone.

Sirius sighed as he flopped down into a chair. It was true, if he had put his life in danger Mr. Potter would have made sure that he learned his lesson and he would have made sure he remembered it ever time he sat for the next day or so. It was different though, Sirius was sure of that, Mr. Potter had been old. A parent. Someone with authority over Sirius as well as James.

_"I know you love him Sirius and I know you want to be his friend and that may be okay but Harry also needs an authority figure, someone who can correct his wrongdoings and still love him unconditionally despite them."_

Sirius ran a hand threw his hair as the words Dumbeldore had spoke less than an hour earlier rang in his ears.

I'll talk to him, Sirius decided nodding to himself, Harry is a good kid. All I'll have to do is talk to him about what he did and everything will be fine. He'll promise to never do it again and we can't put this behind us and everyone will be happy.

"Why was my window locked?" The annoyed voice came from the kitchen as a door slammed behind it.

Sirius groaned softly to himself not quite ready for the talk to happen this instant.

"I'm in here Pup," he called out.

Moments later Harry walked into the room his firebolt in tow. His hair was an utter mess from soaring through the breeze and his cheeks were slightly flushed.

"I went out my window for a quick ride on my broom and when I came back it was locked," he said not bothering to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

Sirius nodded in understanding, "Remus was a little upset that you just went out flying without telling him."

"I didn't know I had to. You don't make me tell you stuff like that."

It was true Harry probably didn't think twice about just taking off for a quick flight, Sirius had never once laid down any ground rules about flying…or about anything else for that matter.

"I know but Remus was in charge and you probably should have let him know," Sirius replied in a calm voice.

"So he locked the window? That's so stupid Sirius! I could have flown right into it and then what?" Harry's voice was annoyed yes but there was also a hint of anger in his tone. Anger that even Harry was unaware of where it came from.

"Next time just tell him okay?" The words came out of his mouth as if he were asking if it was okay and somewhere in the back of his mind he noted that he shouldn't have worded it in such a way.

"Whatever," Harry mumbled flopping onto the couch, "How was the meeting?"

"Alright," Sirius nodded, "I actually wanted to talk to you about it."

Harry shifted his eyes in his godfather's direction but said nothing.

"Harry I know that when you went looking for the stone you were trying to help Dumbeldore and I think that's great, I really do. I love that you are so caring and helpful with the people you love but you can't put your life in danger like that."

"I didn't!" Harry nearly yelled. "I was fine! I hardly had a scratch on me!"

"But you easily could have gotten hurt. You easily could have --"

"For Merlin's sake Sirius I didn't! And I didn't know Voldermort was going to show up! How could I have effing known that?"

Anger was rising in Sirius at how Harry was speaking to him, how he was brushing off this talk and obviously annoyed at Sirius even bringing it up. Anger that surprised Sirius. Anger that caused him to take several deep breaths before speaking again, forcing himself to keep the said anger out of his voice.

"Do not jump all over me when I am trying to talk to you," he replied in a low serious voice.

"You're the one jumping all over me!" Harry now yelled, "And I didn't even do anything wrong!"

Somewhere in the back of his mind a little voice was telling him that he did do something wrong, more than one thing actually and that he should really just shut his mouth and lose his attitude but Harry ignored that voice. That same little voice reminded him that deep inside he knew he should probably get at the very least a lecture for what he had done but a more powerful voice was convincing him that Sirius should be nothing but proud at his actions. After all he had gotten the stone and managed to fight off Voldermort, what more could anyone ask for?

"Do not shout at me!" Sirius reprimanded his anger now rising to the surface, "You put your life in danger Harry I know you couldn't have known that Voldermort would be there but you shouldn't have gone looking for the stone in the first place!"

Harry's immediate action to his godfather's yelling was to apologize or at the very least drop it, Sirius had never raised his voice to him before, but he couldn't bring himself to do either. He was just so angry at Sirius for reacting in this way.

"Oh sod off! I had to go looking for it, no one else was doing anything! What did you expect me to …"

But Harry was cut off mid sentence, Sirius had had enough. Without warning, without so much as a word he jumped out of his seat and grabbing Harry by the arm pulled him off the couch. Without giving his actions a second thought he turned Harry to the side and brought his hand down hard on the boy's backside.

His mind raced with thoughts as he spun Harry back around to face him. Instantly he noticed his godson's cheeks were flushed and his eyes were downcast obviously embarrassed by what had just taken place.

"Look at me," the words left Sirius' mouth and when he heard them he felt as if he hadn't even spoken them.

Without even a second of hesitation Harry snapped his head up, his eye's meeting his Godfathers.

"Don't ever speak to me like that again," Sirius said the words in a stern voice, "I want you to go to your room and calm your temper and I'll be up to talk to you shortly."

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Again, thank you all SO much for the reviews and for adding my story to your favorites or alerts. I really do appreciate all the encouragment. **

**Sorry it took me so long to post this my computer crashed but it's back and fixed now. In the time it was down I wrote this chapter as well as the next one, which is close to being finished so expect it by Friday at the latest. **

**Enjoy the chapter and feel free to offer constructive critisism. **

* * *

Harry could feel the heat blazing off his cheeks as Sirius sent him to his room. He wanted to say something, to apologize; anything but he couldn't make words come out of his mouth. Instead he quickly turned and ran up the stairs.

Sirius watched as his godson ran to his room. His immediate reaction to the smack he had just doled out was regret. He hadn't meant to lose his patience or his temper. He had actually intended to keep both fully in check and continue trying to talk to Harry but unfortunately that obviously hadn't happened. He also hadn't meant to send the boy to his room directly after giving him a smack. He was almost positive that most people would frown upon that. And he knew from his own experience that after being disciplined a child needed to be consoled not banished.

He sighed loudly to himself. However Harry had been subdued for a brief moment, not even wanting to look him in the eye. And he had stopped his yelling as well as his colorful use of language so maybe it hadn't been a completely horrible idea. Of course it was obvious that Harry had been embarrassed by the smack that much Sirius remembered as being a normal reaction. And if nothing else, maybe Harry at least now realized how serious this whole situation was. Sirius ran a hand through his long hair as he tried to recount what it was like to be eleven and how possible it was that Harry now realized what he did was wrong. The results weren't very good.

Sighing once more to himself, Sirius made his way towards the stairs and then up to his godson's room.

* * *

Harry sat on his bed with his knees tucked up under his chin. Several tears had made their way down his face and he was angry at himself for it. The smack had hardly even hurt, he had been banged up much worse recently when going after the stone and even before that from flying on his broom. Hell even the morning before last when he had stubbed his toe on his trunk he had been in more pain then when Sirius had just swatted him and none of those instances had made him shed so much as one tear. So why now was he having a hard time stopping the random stray tears from falling. Sirius was going to come upstairs any moment and tell him to start packing, he just knew it.

He wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. He knew he deserved the smack he had gotten but couldn't Sirius have given him a warning or something.

_His yelling at you was the warning_, a small voice told him and for the first time all day Harry listened to the voice and even agreed with it. And he deserved to be sent back to the Dursleys, he knew that too. It was going to be horrible when Sirius said those words to him but he vowed not to argue or even get upset about it, there was no use arguing over something you deserved.

Harry sighed as he slid off the edge of his bed. There was no use delaying the inevitable and he was sure he was a goner so before Sirius could come upstairs and tell him so he figured he might as well start packing. At least then he'd be ready to go sooner and Sirius would probably be happy the sooner he was gone. Opening his trunk he brushed another stray tear off his face. Slowly he walked over to his wardrobe and began to take down clothes and throw them into his trunk.

He had about half of his clothes packed when there was a knock at his bedroom door.

"Come in," he said the words knowing that his voice gave his crying away and hoping he didn't sound like too much of a baby.

Sirius walked into the room surveying what was taking place in front of him. He had a good idea of what exactly his godson was doing but he cleared his throat and asked anyway, "What are you doing Pup?"

"Packing," Harry replied his voice hoarse with tears.

Guilt immediately swept over Sirius' entire body as his godson said the words that Sirius expected yet dreaded to hear. Harry had been out of line and he had deserved getting into trouble but Sirius had never meant for Harry to feel unwanted. He ran a hand through his hair as he realized what needed to be discussed. Slowly he opened his mouth and forced the words to come out in a calm, normal tone. "Packing for what?"

"To go back to the Dursleys", he replied honestly, "I know after what I did you don't want me here anymore."

Sirius frowned as he watched the boy who refused to look at him throw another jumper into his trunk.

"Look at me Harry," he spoke the words in a soft voice.

Slowly Harry's green eyes looked up and met his godfather's dark ones.

"Stop packing and just come sit and talk to me alright?"

Harry nodded as he dropped the trousers he was holding into his trunk and went back to his spot on the bed.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair before grabbing Harry's desk chair and seating himself on it.

Taking a deep breath Sirius stated what needed to be said first and foremost, "You aren't going anywhere Harry. I adopted you we're a family now and no matter what happens you are never going back to those people. I love you, you must know that" Sirius sighed before continuing, "And I don't care what you say to me or what trouble you get into, you could blow up this whole house and I still wouldn't send you away."

Harry's head jerked up as he took in this information. Sirius wasn't sending him back. A lump suddenly formed in Harry's throat and he swallowed hard as he tried to ignore it.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as the lump threatened to explode.

Sirius nodded, "I know you are."

"I really am," he nodded looking down at his knees as a tear escaped but he had to get out what he wanted to say, "I didn't mean to get into trouble at school and I didn't mean to talk to you like that."

"I know Pup," Sirius sighed, "Look at me Harry."

Harry turned his head so it was resting on his knees and his eyes were meeting his godfather's. He knew he was in for a lecture of some sorts but he prayed that was all he was in for. He knew that if Sirius decided he deserved a few more smacks it would be totally fair, after all he had acted horribly downstairs, but he hoped that wasn't about to happen.

"I'm sorry too."

Harry's eyes widened as he brought his head up completely. "What for? I was the one who acted like a total arse!"

"Watch your mouth," Sirius chuckled before getting serious. "I'm sorry because I should have sat down with you the moment you got here and gone over some ground rules. I'm sorry because when you got yourself into trouble for doing illegal things with Hagrid there should have been consequences. And because I shouldn't have just sent you to your room before, I lost my temper and although you may have deserved the smack you didn't deserve to be sent away directly after it."

Harry immediately blushed as Sirius recalled what had happened only minutes earlier. "It's okay," he replied and honestly it was. He didn't mind at all not having ground rules or consequences in the past and though he didn't like being smacked he knew he deserved it.

"I'm not perfect Harry and I'll admit I have no experience with this parenting thing but I am trying."

Harry nodded as he took this information in. "I don't have any experience with having a parent," he pointed out.

"So we'll just have to learn together," Sirius smiled warmly as Harry nodded in agreement.

Sirius cleared his throat, "Now about before, we still need to really discuss what happened with the stone and Voldermort."

Harry's eyes immediately went back down to his knees as he felt his face flush involuntarily.

"You aren't in trouble," Sirius said noticing Harry's embarrassment, "But I really need you to understand that it's not okay to put your life in danger. I know you didn't know that Voldermort was going to be there but it's not your job to do things like go after the stone. You are still just a child Harry and there are plenty of adults around to do those things. Do you understand?"

Sirius had wanted to add something about how James and Lily had given their lives for his but he didn't feel it necessary at the time. It was obvious but Harry's body language that he more than understood what Sirius was saying.

"I know," he nodded, "I'm sorry."

"I know you are," Sirius replied honestly, "But that's going to be the number one rule around here, no putting your life in danger. Got it?"

"Got it," Harry nodded. And he did, he knew he took crazy chances and that he shouldn't he just wasn't used to anyone caring that he did. "What are the other rules?" The words came out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Sirius was shocked at Harry's question. Honestly he hadn't really come up with any other rules as he wasn't expecting Harry to want a list. He quickly racked his brain for the rules that the Potter's had set for him and James.

"No more with the language, I expect you to watch how you speak to me and to others," Sirius waited for Harry to nod in agreement and once he did he continued, "And no lying, there is never a reason to lie and I can guarantee you that if you do you will find yourself in more trouble then you would have for whatever you lied about." As the words left Sirius' mouth a clear image of James' father saying those exact words to both James and himself filled his head and he smiled fondly at the memory.

"Okay, that sounds fair," Harry nodded.

"Aside from that I expect you to keep your room tidy and you need to start going to bed earlier, I'm not going to insult you by giving you a bedtime but I do expect your lights out by 11:00 from now on. It'll improve your attitude, trust me."

Harry tried to appear annoyed at this remark but couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face, he didn't have a bedtime, how cool was that?!

* * *

"He and I were sure that Dumbeldore was going to expel us on the spot but he just wrote a letter to your grandparents, we didn't even get detention!" Sirius laughed loudly as he told the old story.

It was hours later. After the events of the early afternoon Sirius had gone off to talk to Remus leaving Harry to do some homework…for real this time. And Harry had done so without complaints because his godfather had asked him to. He was actually quite proud of himself for being so obedient, he had really wanted to accompany Sirius on his visit but once his godfather had explained that he had to talk to Remus about private matters, Harry had dropped it and spent the 45 minutes that his godfather was gone doing a Herbology essay. A part of him had wanted to pester Sirius to take him along and even larger part of him had wanted to ignore Sirius' request to do homework and do something more exciting but he hadn't done either. He suspected from his godfather's tone that doing homework while he was gone was the rest of his punishment and really if that was all the punishment he was going to receive Harry couldn't complain.

Once Sirius had arrived home to find Harry obediently doing his homework he had suggested the two play some chess and they had played several games before dinner. Now here they were well fed and laughing over old stories while they had their evening tea.

"Were my grandparents mad?" Harry asked. He was amazed by the stories Sirius told. He, Ron, and Hermione were practically angels in comparison. Well maybe not angels but not nearly all that bad, after all they rarely went looking for trouble unlike his father and godfather.

"Furious", Sirius smiled, "As we expected them to be, honestly your father expected your grandfather to barge right into the Gryffindor common room and paddle him."

Harry's eyes widened, "But he didn't right?"

"No in all our years at Hogwarts he never did, though he did threaten it several times."

Harry took this information in as he sipped his tea. His mind drifted back to the few times he had gotten into trouble during his first year at Hogwarts and at how much he had dreaded Sirius reading the letter about the dragon incident. Ron had confessed just how much trouble he would be in when his mum read it. Had Harry expected the same reaction from Sirius? No, he had to admit to himself, he had expected Sirius to decide he didn't want him. But then today he had acted horribly and Sirius had said he'd never send him away. Sirius had hardly even punished him. Of course the smack had hurt but it had hurt Harry's pride more than his backside and he wasn't even sure the homework was really punishment.

He felt his cheeks go warm as he decided that now was probably as good of a time as ever. Besides he **had **to know and though he always felt comfortable with his godfather if possible he felt even more comfortable after dinner when they had their tea.

So swallowing down his embarrassment Harry cleared his throat, "Can we talk about earlier…what happened I mean?"

There he had said it and now he would die from embarrassment right in front of Sirius while Sirius sipped his tea.

"I told you you're forgiven Pup, don't worry about it."

Sirius smiled a genuine smile obviously oblivious to Harry's embarrassment.

"No I know but…but you said you'll never send me away…"

"And I won't," Sirius interrupted him.

"But what if I mess up real bad?" Harry asked. He wasn't sure why he was going to say what he was about to but some part of him knew he had to. He needed reassurance. "Ron said that when his mum found out about the dragon she'd be mad. Real mad. He said she'd probably whack him with a spoon and you weren't mad at all. And going after the stone was probably much worse and I hardly got punished, Ron and even Hermione probably got much worse."

"You want me to punish you more for what you did?" Sirius was honestly confused. When he had left Harry after their conversation earlier to go talk to Remus, even he had agreed that one simple spank and an hour of homework had most likely gotten the message across at least for this particular instance.

"No", Harry quickly shook his head. He wasn't explaining himself very well at all. "It's just…what if I mess up again?"

Sirius sighed finally realizing where this was going. Some part of him figured that this conversation would happen sooner or later and he knew that Harry needed to know what to expect but he still wasn't sure how to answer, how to handle this. He took a long swallow of his tea as he gathered his thoughts. "First of all I don't expect you to be perfect Pup, everyone makes mistakes but as your guardian it is my job to correct you and sometimes punish you."

"I know", Harry replied, "I guess what I'm asking is how."

Harry felt for sure that his face would just burn right off as he waited for his godfather to answer.

"Well that depends on the situation," Sirius answered honestly, "We went over the rules, you know what I expect."

"Yeah but", Harry paused for a moment as his eyes drifted down into his lap. _Just say it_, he scolded himself, _you've come this far._

"But what?"

"Are you going to spank me?"

There he had said it. Sirius was probably going to laugh in his face. He was probably going to think he was such a baby.

"Only when and if you deserve it," Sirius answered honestly not a hint of amusement in his voice.

"But…"

"Harry look at me."

Slowly Harry brought his head up and Sirius sighed when he saw his godson's embarrassment.

"Come here." He pushed his chair back from the table and once Harry was in front of him he pulled his godson into his lap.

Harry's embarrassment quickly exited his body as he felt himself relax in Sirius' arms.

"Remember when you were here at Christmas and I told you about my childhood and how your grandparents took me in?"

Harry nodded against Sirius' chest. He remembered that conversation vividly it was then that he had realized how much he and his godfather had in common.

"Your grandparents were amazing people Pup and the only real parents I had. Those rules we discussed earlier are the same ones your dad and I had while growing up at their house and I plan on keeping the consequences of breaking those rules the same as well."

Harry nodded once more as he felt Sirius ruffle his hair.

"Not only because they were amazing people and parents who raised a wonderful son but also because I know that if your dad were here that's what he would do."

"So if I break any of those rules you'll…"

"No", Sirius cut him off hoping to save his godson some embarrassment. "Only when you deserve it Pup. There is a difference between using some foul language and telling a lie or putting yourself in danger and though I won't be happy if I hear a horrible word come out of your mouth you probably won't get much more than a reminder from me not to use words like that."

Harry nodded as he thought about this.

"Trust me Harry you'll know when you've earned and deserve a spanking."

Harry nodded once more, "I know." And really he did. Thinking back he realized that for the dragon incident he probably did deserve a punishment similar to Ron's and he probably deserved much more for the stone as well. Silently he vowed to stop putting himself in such situations. He never wanted to give Sirius a reason to have to give him a spanking.

"Just remember," Sirius continued as his hand rubbed Harry's back gently, "You'll always be forgive and you are always very loved."

Harry smiled as he snuggled a little closer to his godfather, "I love you too."

**TBC...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Once again thank you all for the support through reviews or adding this story to your favorits or alerts. I finished this chapter sooner then I thought I would and I'm about halfway through the next one so expect it either late tonight or tomorrow night. **

**Just a note: I realize there is a lot of Sirius going to see Remus in this story and there will be a lot more. You'll soon discover why I just wanted to note that this story has zero slash in it so please don't think that is the reason. **

* * *

Harry was stretched across his bed looking through a book on Quidditch and trying to figure out if standing on his broom would be considered putting himself in danger when Sirius walked through his open bedroom door.

"You know what I was thinking?" His voice was dripping with joy and Harry immediately noticed it.

Harry looked up for his magazine and into his godfather's playful eyes, "What?"

"It's a beautiful day out, how would you like to go to Diagon Alley? We could get some lunch there and of course some dessert and maybe some other things?"

"Really?" Harry was unable to keep the excitement out of his voice. He had only been to Diagon Alley once and going with Sirius would be totally cool.

"Really, I have to go out for a bit tonight so why not have some fun today!" His eyes were glowing with excitement and happiness. Doing things as simple as taking his godson to Diagon Alley was something he had always dreamed of.

"Where do you have to go tonight?" Harry asked as he rolled off his bed and slipped his sneakers onto his feet.

"Just over to see Remus for a bit," Sirius replied as he waited for his godson to tie his shoes.

"Can I come?"

Sirius shook his head, "Next time Pup. I can trust you to leave you alone for an hour right?"

Harry rolled his eyes as he finished tying his shoe and stood up nodding, "Of course you can,"

"Good," Sirius laughed, "Are you ready to go then? We can floo there."

Harry was halfway to the top of the stairs when he turned on the stop with excitement in his eyes. "We can? Really? I've never done that before!"

Sirius laughed as he nodded ushering Harry back around and down the stairs, "Then let's not waste any time."

It had been a full week since the day that had started with Sirius meeting Dumbeldore and ended with a conversation about rules and consequences and Sirius was pleased to see a change in Harry. His room was always clean, he was going to bed earlier, and his attitude was gone. Sirius was convinced that maybe one time was all there would ever be. That maybe now that Harry knew the rules he would never break them.

The two of them stepped out of the fireplace, Harry's eyes wide with excitement.

"So what did you think of your first floo?"

"Wicked," Harry smiled brightly as they stepped outside.

Diagon Alley was a bit crowded for a summer afternoon and Harry hoped he'd run into some friends from school.

"Why don't we eat first," Sirius suggested, "And then we can check out a few shops, maybe get you some Quidditch magazines or something."

"Should we go to Gringotts?"

"What for?" Sirius asked as he led the way to Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlor

"So I can visit my vault, did you bring my key?"

Sirius shook his head, "I have money Pup. Besides you need to save that money for when you are older."

Harry nodded as he thought about this. He had a small fortune sitting in his vault but Sirius was probably right, he probably shouldn't waste it on things like chocolate frogs but still Sirius didn't work so how did he have money? And who was going to pay for Hogwarts? Harry wasn't sure how much it cost but it couldn't be cheap.

"Sirius can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can Pup." Sirius smiled down at his godson.

"How do you have money? I mean you don't work. Did you save it all from a job you used to have?"

Sirius shook his head as he rounded a corner with Harry by his side. "No, I've never really had a job. I mean I've done things with my time of course but never a real job. When my parents died they left me their fortune."

Harry glanced up at his godfather realizing once more just how much they had in common. "How come you never had a job?"

"I wasn't use to having to work for things Pup; I was a little arrogant about just having money to spend at will, which is something I do not want for you. Besides you are far too talented to waste that talent." Sirius replied as he opened the door and let Harry enter before walking in himself.

"I want to work when I'm done at Hogwarts," Harry answered as the two of them made their way to a small table, "I want to do something fun though, something adventurous."

"You're parents thought about being Aurors, did you know that?" Sirius asked as he took his seat.

Harry shook his head, "No I didn't know. So they didn't work when I was a baby?"

Sirius shook his head and Harry noticed that he his face seemed a bit strange, like he was trying to decide what to say or rather what not to say.

"There was a war going on Harry, things were a little hectic and while your parents and I did our part, we didn't actually have jobs." Sirius forced himself to smile. "So where do you want to go after we eat? I was thinking we could check out Quality Quidditch Supplies and maybe Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop, I haven't been in there in years your dad and I used to buy all sorts of things there to prank our professors."

* * *

"Aren't these cool," Harry asked. It was over an hour later and he and his godfather were standing in Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop. Harry was especially impressed by no-heat fireworks.

**"**They are very cool," Sirius nodded in agreement, "and we can buy them but only if you promise not to set them off without me there."

Harry nodded quickly, "I promise!"

Sirius chuckled as he picked up the fireworks and headed for the cash register leaving Harry to browse some more.

"Wicked," he muttered under his breath as he noticed a pack of parchment that was designed for students to merely speak to leaving the parchment to do all the writing. He was about to pick some up and show it to Sirius when a familiar voice distracted him.

"Harry!"

He turned his head to find a smiling Neville and an older witch that Harry assumed was his grandmother.

"Hey Neville," he returned the smile. "How are you?"

"Its summer, I'm great," Neville smiled, "Gran this is Harry."

"Harry Potter!" She exclaimed shaking Harry's hand with more force then Harry expected her to have, "Neville has told me all about you."

"It's nice to meet you," Harry smiled proud of himself for remembering his manners.

"Are you ready to hit Quality Quidditch Supplies?" Sirius asked coming up behind Harry.

"Sirius this is my friend Neville and his grandmother."

"Neville Longbottom," Sirius smiled warmly, "Harry told me the two of you were friends, I was good friends with your parents."

Neville blushed involuntarily as Sirius shook both his hand and his grandmothers.

"Sirius Black," his grandmother smiled warmly, "Neville here told me that Harry was going to be leaving with you now. I think it's just marvelous that you're doing your duty as his godfather."

Sirius smiled as he placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'm just thrilled to be able to, it took long enough and I have a lot of time to make up for."

The witch smiled once more, "Well it was lovely to see you both but we must be going. We're off to get Neville's books for this coming year it's always good to get a head start I say."

Sirius smiled as he nodded, "It was nice to see you as well."

"Bye Neville," Harry smiled, "And nice to meet you Ma'm"

* * *

An hour later the two returned home with not only the fireworks but two Quidditch magazines, as well as a few chocolate frogs. Sirius feared at first that he may be spoiling his godson but Harry had thanked him continuously for the things he had purchased and Sirius realized that this was probably a new experience for him, to be treated to a few little things for no occasion at all. It had been a wonderful day for both of them and Sirius was happy that they had been able to spend it together.

"Look at this", Harry pointed to a picture in his new magazine of a Quidditch player racing to the ground to catch a snitch, "Isn't that wicked?"

Sirius nodded as he stirred the soup he was preparing for dinner. He glanced at the clock on the wall noting that he would have to leave as soon as he finished eating.

"I'll have to come to a match or two this year," he said as he dished the soup into two bowls and carried them to the table.

"Really?" Harry had a hard time keeping the excitement out of his voice but then he'd never really had anyone come to a match to see him. Of course Ron and Hermione did and he suspected Hagrid usually came just for him as well but having Sirius there would be different, almost like having his dad there.

"Yes really," he smiled as he reached around Harry to retrieve the bread and butter and placed that on the table as well. "Magazine away now, come eat please."

Harry closed the magazine leaving it on the counter as he took his place at the table.

"I have to leave right after I eat so we'll have our tea when I get home," Sirius explained as he buttered himself a piece of bread.

"Can't I please come?"

Sirius shook his head as Harry ate a mouthful of soup. "Sorry Pup but Remus and I have to talk about private matters."

"I won't get in the way," Harry promised, "You won't even know I'm there."

"Because you won't be there," Sirius smiled.

"Please", Harry asked once more, just a hint of a whine in his voice.

Sirius shook his head as he ate.

"But that's not fair!" His voice raised some, threatening to become a yell.

"I said no Harry," his voice was low and serious, "I'm sorry but that's the way it is and if you continue this you can spend the time I'm gone sitting in a chair and thinking about how you got there.

Harry's face flushed slightly at his godfather's scolding.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into his soup.

"It's alright," Sirius smiled, "Maybe you and I will go visit Remus tomorrow but tonight the answer is no."

Harry nodded as he ate mentally kicking himself for making his godfather scold him. Sirius had spent the whole day with him in Diagon Alley and he deserved time alone to visit his friend. Harry knew that, he didn't exactly like it, but he knew it.

"Besides you have your magazines to keep you entertained and I won't be gone more than an hour."

He smiled at his godfather, at least he didn't seem mad and Sirius was right he wanted to read his new magazines and he wouldn't be bored in the least while Sirius was gone.

* * *

Thirty minutes later Sirius was gone and Harry was lying on the couch enjoying his magazine. He was engrossed in a story about the Quidditch World Cup when a loud noise caused him to jump up. He blinked twice almost wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him before a smile quickly spread across his face. There standing in the fireplace looking absolutely thrilled with himself was Ron.

**TBC...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: As promised here is the next chapter. Once again thank you for the support. I'm about halfway through the next chapter so expect it in the next couple of days! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Ron! What are you doing here?"

"Hey Harry!" Ron smiled as he stepped out of the fireplace and into the living room.

Harry's face was overcome by his huge smile. It had only been a few weeks since had had seen Ron and to be honest he hadn't thought he had really missed him, until he saw him of course.

"What are you doing here?" He asked again simply amazed by the fact that his best mate was standing in his living room.

"I shouldn't be I'm grounded because of the stone," the redhead confessed, "butt I had to come, I have so much to tell you and Percy'll never know he's too busy being locked in his room studying."

"What do you have to tell me? And where are your parents?" Harry asked as he fell back onto the couch.

"With Sirius at the meeting," Ron replied taking a seat in the armchair. He immediately relaxed and put his feet up on the ottoman in front of it.

"Huh? Sirius is at Remuses."

"No he isn't," Ron stated, "That's what I came to tell you."

"Huh?" Harry hated that he sounded so stupid but he didn't know what else to say nothing that Ron was saying was making nay sense at all.

"I woke up late last night and when I was coming back from the loo I heard my mum and dad talking and so I listened and there is some Order to fight you know who someday and Sirius is in it too and Remus and Dumbeldore and even Snape and there is a meeting tonight and that's where they all are, At Sirius' for a meeting."

It took Harry a moment to take all this information in. Ron hardly ever had so much important information to say. And then the last bit registered with him.

"Wait this is Sirius' house."

"Not his only one, this is where he lives but he still has his parents house and that's where the meetings are," Ron smiled obviously proud of himself, "I thought maybe you'd already know, that maybe Sirius would have told you."

Harry shrugged unsure of what to say to that, he was surprised too. Why hadn't Sirius told him? After all he had already fought Voldermort. No one else Ron had mentioned had, except Dumbeldore and maybe Snape but Sirius hadn't and neither had Remus or Ron's parents. If what Ron was saying was right and there was an Order to fight Voldermort then shouldn't Harry be apart of it?

"We have to go," Ron said when Harry remained silent.

"Go?" He mentally kicked himself for again sounding like such a dunce.

"To a meeting!" Ron practically yelled. "Aren't you curious?"

Harry nodded. He had to admit he was curios but he knew that he and Ron would probably never be allowed to go. After all, Sirius hadn't even told him about it so if there was an Order it was obvious to Harry that his godfather didn't want him to know about it and if he didn't want him to know about it, Harry doubted he'd be inviting him to a meeting anytime soon.

"How are we going to do that?" He asked. "They'll never let us."

"We have your cloak and we can floo," Ron said the words in an exasperated tone. As if he couldn't even fathom how Harry hadn't figured this out on his own.

"But how? **This **is Sirius' house."

"My parent's flooed, they just waited until we were all eating dinner so none of us heard what they said when they left, it would be hard for me to hear next time because someone would notice if I left the dinner table, but you could probably hear."

Harry quickly thought back to less then thirty minutes earlier when Sirius had left. Harry was still in the kitchen finishing up his supper and Sirius had seemed as though he was in a hurry. Of course at the time it hadn't meant much at all but now looking back it was obvious that Sirius was trying to leave before Harry had any reason to leave the table.

Harry nodded in agreement it would be easy for him to hear. "When you floo here you say, Sirius Black's residence," he noted, "So it can't be that, maybe you have to say his dad's name."

"Yeah maybe," Ron agreed the excitement all over his face. "And you could definitely find out and then we could use your cloak and go."

"Yeah," Harry nodded, "and we should I mean I already fought him once and you almost did it was because of you I even got so far."

Ron nodded smiling proudly, "Yeah we totally have to go and see what they are saying. We have experience here it's our duty to make sure they know what they are doing."

Harry wasn't entirely sure that it was there duty but he was still curious and not just about the meeting but about the house too. Why hadn't Sirius ever told him that he still owned his parents house?

"We just have to make sure we know the right place to floo to first. I'll try and find out."

"Okay," Ron nodded, "I gotta go before anyone realizes I'm gone but I'll come back during the next meeting.

"Alright", Harry nodded as Ron stepped back into the fireplace, "See ya Ron."

* * *

As promised exactly one hour after he left Sirius returned home to find Harry still with his magazine on the couch.

"Still enjoying that I see," Sirius smiled, "Can you tear yourself away to join me for tea?"

Harry nodded as he pulled himself off the couch and followed his godfather into the kitchen. He watched as Sirius prepared the tea and then the two sat down.

"How was Remuses?" Harry asked before taking his first sip.

"Very good and I spoke to him and tomorrow you and I will go visit him."

"Cool", Harry replied.

He wanted to yell and scream and demand that Sirius tell him the truth. Wasn't he the one who preached about never telling a lie? But he knew he couldn't yell and scream without getting himself into trouble and he couldn't mention the meeting without ratting out Ron and he wasn't going to do that. He was however going to fish for information.

"You visit Remus a lot." Harry noted before taking a sip of his tea.

Sirius nodded smiling.

"How come?" Harry asked nonchalantly. He had enough experience with trying to find information out to know that he had to choose his words carefully. One wrong word and Sirius might suspect that he knew something and then he probably wouldn't find out anything. In fact, he'd probably have to tell Sirius that Ron had been there and he wasn't about to do that. For a brief moment he wondered if not telling Sirius about his visitor was considered lying, he didn't think it was but if Sirius knew why Ron had visited he might not agree.

"Remus is one of my best friends, you know that Pup."

"I know but Ron is one of my best friends and I don't visit him all that much."

Sirius smiled as he took a swallow of his tea before answering his godson. "You are also eleven it's not quite so easy for you to just drop in on your friends whenever you like."

That's what you think, Harry thought.

"After your parents passed away and Peter was convicted of betraying them, Remus was really the only close friend I had left and the same goes for him in regards to me, the two of us are just very close as a result of that."

Harry sighed feeling frustrated with his godfather. Why were adults always so impossible when all you wanted was just a little bit of information? Would it kill Sirius to just slip up and say something important?

"Are you alright Pup? You seem a little off." Sirius noted and Harry immediately saw the worry in his eyes.

"I'm a little tired," Harry replied. It was a lie and he mentally noted it.

"You can head up to bed if you like." His voice was calm but Harry could see past that. The man was clearly worried that something was wrong with his godson.

"I think I will," Harry nodded as he pushed his chair away from the table. "Night Sirius."

"Night Pup, I'll be up in a minute."

* * *

Harry changed into his pajamas and lied awake in his bed. As he was changing a thought had occurred to him, a thought that had quickly overcome his curiosity about the meeting and his godfather's parent's house. If he and Ron did find out the correct thing to say to floo to a meeting and actually went there under his cloak he'd be breaking a rule, more than one actually. He would be lying about several different things. He chewed on his lip as he thought about the conversation he and Sirius had had about breaking rules. Sirius had said that lying was one of the worst things he could do. He had said that to him and now not even a week later here he was plotting to do just that. It was wrong and he knew it. But at the same time he couldn't tell Ron that they couldn't go because he was afraid of getting caught. No, that definitely could not happen. Harry was well aware that Ron's mum believed in punishment and not once did Ron chicken out of anything for the fear of getting caught. No, Harry had to do this. But he also had to make sure that they were not caught.

"You awake Pup?" Harry was pulled from his thoughts by his godfather's concerned voice.

"Yeah," he replied to the figure that stood by his door in the darkness.

He watched as Sirius moved across the room and he moved over some to make room for him to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay? It isn't even ten yet and you're already in bed." Sirius' hand felt Harry's forehead and though Sirius couldn't see it in the darkness a smile formed across Harry's face.

Many times in his life he had suffered from a cold or a virus only to be sent to bed by his Aunt as she shrieked about him infecting Dudley with his germs, never once had she come to check on him. Harry was always forced to fight his way through his sicknesses without so much as a tissue and here was his godfather concerned for his wellbeing.

Concerned because he had lied and worried him. The smile quickly vanished from his mouth.

"I'm okay Sirius really, I'm just tired," Harry replied forcing himself to yawn in order to convince his godfather.

"We did have a busy day," Sirius said in a voice that sounded like he was convincing himself of it, "And tomorrow will be busy as well if we are going to go visit with Remus, maybe you do just need a good nights sleep."

Harry nodded in agreement though he wasn't sure Sirius could tell he did. "I really am just tired, I feel fine, I promise."

Harry heard his godfather sigh and then there was a long pause before he spoke again. "Alright I'll stop hounding you and let you sleep," he forced a chuckle, "But if you start to feel peaky you come and wake me okay? I don't care what time it is."

"I will, I promise." Harry nodded once more. "But I really am fine."

Sirius smiled as he leaned down and kissed his godson's forehead. "Sleep well Pup, I love you."

Harry rolled onto his side, bringing his knees up to his chest as Sirius walked towards the door.

"I love you too," he replied smiling, "And thanks again for taking me today."

"You're welcome."

Sirius walked down the hall to his room smiling to himself, I must be the luckiest man on the planet to have a godson like him.

* * *

Harry rolled over and looked at his clock for what felt like at least the hundredth time in the last hour.

1:37

He sighed loudly to himself. _Stop thinking and go to sleep_, he scolded himself, _you are being a huge baby! No one worries this much! After all you have the cloak, you're invisible under it! There is no way you can get caught! _

He sighed once more rolling onto his stomach and trying to get comfortable. The next time Sirius went to Remuses and refused to let Harry come along he would sneak around just a little and find out the password, that wasn't a lie. Though knowing where his godfather was really going kind of was…maybe. Then he and Ron would wait until the following meeting and use the cloak and floo to the meeting. They would listen from outside of the room the meeting was in and floo home before it was over. There was no possible way they could or would get caught. However, Ron would have to floo back to Harry's to get out from under the cloak and then floo home again. And what if someone realized Ron was missing. Harry, of course, had no one to realize if he disappeared for an hour but Ron lived in a full house. A full house of siblings that may notice his disappearance and become suspicious. Harry knew the other Weasley's well enough to know that though they loved Ron they'd rat him out in a heartbeat. Ron would have to come stay with him for a few days. But how were they going to know when a meeting would be and when Ron should stay. Maybe there was a pattern. Today was Thursday, Harry noted, so maybe the next meeting would be the following Thursday. He'd have to pay attention to that. And Ron had said he was grounded for the stone but how long was he grounded for?

He sighed once more willing his brain to turn off and let him sleep. And finally at 2:29, it did.

**TBC...**


	6. Chapter 6

****

Author's Note: Once again thank you to everyone who reviewed or added this story to your favorite's or to your update alert, I appreciate the support!! I have the next chapter half done so expect it sometime this week if all goes well.

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"This is a pretty cool room," Harry declared.

He was standing in the library at Remuses house and Remus had just showed him an entire section devoted to books on Quidditch.

"Feel free to borrow any book you like," Remus offered, "There are several there in the past Quidditch teams at Hogwarts that you'd probably enjoy."

Harry returned the smile as he selected a book off the shelf.

"So Moony did you tell him the good news?" Sirius asked as he walked into the room.

"Good news?" Harry echoed looking up from the book. His eyes went from Sirius to Remus.

"Don't make it more than it is Padfoot," Remus laughed, "Harry may not even be happy about the idea."

"He'll be thrilled," Sirius assured him smiling widely.

"What good news?" Harry asked again. "And what idea?"

"I'm going to be teaching Defense Against The Dark Arts this coming school year, Dumbeldore asked me last night."

"Wicked!" Harry exclaimed, "That'll be really cool Remus!" And then the second part hit him. "You saw Dumbeldore last night?"

Harry didn't miss the look Sirius and Remus exchanged and for a second he thought that maybe they'd tell him about the meeting they had been at but then his godfather cleared his throat and answered.

"He stopped by to speak with Remus about the teaching position Pup."

"He was only here a few minutes," Remus added.

Harry nodded his brain racking at what he should say next. He wanted to yell at them both and tell them that he knew all about the meeting but he knew he couldn't. He couldn't tell them how he knew and he knew that if they found out he knew he'd never have a chance at actually going to one and finding out what it was all about.

"Oh," he finally replied, "It is brilliant that you'll be the new Defense teacher Remus, everyone will love you."

"Thank you Harry," Remus smiled, "That's very kind of you to say."

"You're welcome. And this really is a cool room, are all these books yours?"

"Some belonged to my parents," Remus answered, "This was there house."

Bingo! Harry thought fighting to keep the smile from spreading across his face.

"Hey Sirius do we live in your parent's house?"

Sirius shook his head as he picked up a book and flipped through it.

"Did it get sold?" Harry asked as he prayed that his face wasn't giving away his thoughts.

Sirius shook his head once more. "No, I own it Pup but it isn't exactly pleasant…it's actually a bit dangerous…it's not a happy place."

Harry nodded as he took this new information in. Not a happy place? Because of the memories Sirius has of it or because it's really a creepy old house, Harry wondered. He would describe the Dursleys as not a happy place but he wouldn't describe it as dangerous. He knew Sirius' family was an old pureblood family, kind of like the Malfoys. Maybe his house was as Harry imagined Draco's to be, grand but full of dark magic.

"Do you want to play some Quidditch?" Remus suddenly asked pulling Harry from his thoughts. "I have some brooms; you could take on us two old timers."

"Really?" Harry asked the thoughts of Sirius' parent's house and the meeting flying out of his mind.

"Who are you calling old Moony?" Sirius laughed.

"**You** Padfoot! Now are we going to play?"

Harry nodded eagerly already halfway to the door.

"The brooms are by the backdoor Harry help yourself to whichever one you like."

Harry raced through the house too excited over the idea of playing Quidditch to notice Remus giving Sirius' shoulder a tight squeeze.

"Let it go," Remus muttered under his breath and Sirius simply nodded.

* * *

"You're not as bad as I thought you'd be," Harry noted in an innocent voice as Sirius flew by him.

"And just how bad did you think I would be?" Sirius asked in a mock stern tone.

"No I didn't mean it like that," Harry chuckled, "You're really good."

"And coming from the youngest seeker in a century that is high praise," Remus smiled.

The trio had played a game of Quidditch and though it was two against one, Harry had defeated them easily. Since then they had just been flying around, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

"I told him I'm coming to a game or two," Sirius nodded.

"I look forward to them as well."

Harry smiled at the two men. _This is what it's supposed to be like_, he thought, _happy family moments like this._

"But for now I'd say we've been in the air long enough," Remus continued as he slowly descended out of the sky.

Sirius followed his old friend's lead and Harry reluctantly followed as well. He would have loved to fly a little longer but Remus did look tired and if he and Sirius were going to go inside, Harry didn't want to miss anything they might say or do.

"We should actually probably head home," Sirius said as the trio headed towards the house, brooms in tow. "It's nearly supper time."

Harry sighed under his breath but nodded in agreement with his godfather as he placed the broom back where he had gotten it from. He was really hoping they would have stayed longer so he could fish for more information but he didn't want to argue that he wanted to stay or make a big deal out of it or anything. He didn't want to give his godfather any reason to not bring him along the next time he came to visit.

* * *

Harry sat at the table flipping through a book on Quidditch that he had borrowed from Remus while Sirius stood at the stove making their dinner. Harry had to admit that the book was very interesting but he just couldn't bring himself to focus on it. His mind had too many other thoughts racing through it. He really, really wanted to know when the next meeting would be and he was beginning to wonder if there was some way he could find out. Maybe after Sirius went to sleep he could snoop around a little and see if he could find any information. But then again, if it was a meeting of some secret order would Sirius leave any information about it around the house?

Harry chewed on his bottom lip as he decided that he would just bite one bullet now, at least then he reasoned with himself, some of the work would be done and he'd at least have done something about his curiosity and the sense of adventure that was rapidly brewing in him.

"Hey Sirius?" He made his eyes stay focused on the book in front of him, not wanting to look too interested in what he was about to say.

"Hmmm?" Sirius responded as he tasted the tomato sauce before pouring it on top of the pasta.

"I was just wondering why you never told me you have another house."

Sirius carried two bowls of pasta over to the table and Harry immediately closed the book and set it on the counter behind him. Still, though, he didn't meet his godfather's gaze. He was too afraid that his face would totally give away all his thoughts and plotting.

"I didn't know it would interest you Pup." Sirius replied as he took his seat at the table.

Harry shrugged searching for the right words. "I was just surprised to find out. I mean I know you didn't really get along with your parents so I guess I just didn't think you'd own their house."

Sirius finished chewing and swallowing a mouthful of pasta before answering. "When you have a family manor it is passed down through generations, the house would probably have gone to my brother but when he passed on it went to me. Like I told you though Pup, it isn't a happy place and it's quite dangerous."

"Dangerous how?" The words were out of Harry's mouth before his brain even registered that he was about to speak them.

Sirius ran a hand through his long hair before responding. "There is a lot of dark magic in it and surrounding it Harry, there are also quite a few cursed objects in the house. It just isn't the type of place any normal person would want to spend much time. For instance, I would never take you there."

Harry nodded as he took his first bite of his dinner, his brain taking in what his godfather had just said. Then without thinking about it too much and hoping to look as innocent as he could he asked the question he had been dying to ask.

"But then I don't understand the floo system. When you floo here you say Sirius Black's residence so how can you have two houses? Wouldn't people end up flooing to the wrong one all the time?"

He prayed he just sounded innocent and curious and not like someone who was lying and plotting to lie some more.

Sirius chuckled as he swallowed once more. "You're reminding me of your mum right now with all these questions, she was always so curious about everything. Every place you floo has it's own distinct name and it's had that name as long as there has been a floo connected to the house so even though I own the house, to floo there you have to say Black Manor. For example if you one day owned this house you would still say Sirius Black's residence when you flooed here because this house did not have a floo system until I purchased it and had one connected… unless of course you wanted to take it up with the ministry and change it but that can be such a hassle, Remus did that with his parent's house and it took months and months for the change to go in effect."

Harry forced a smile at his godfather as he ate another mouthful of food. It had been that easy. He had asked the question and Sirius had answered it as if he asked if he could have a second helping of dinner. And he should have felt great about now knowing this information but he couldn't help but feel just a little guilty. His godfather never once suspected his question asking, he never once thought for even a moment that Harry could be asking for totally wrong reasons. Harry sighed to himself, still he had come this far, there was really no turning back now.

"Hey Sirius, can Ron come visit for a few days?"

"You sure have a lot on your mind tonight don't you Pup?"

Harry shrugged once again forcing himself to smile. "I guess I just miss him is all."

"Of course you do, he's your best mate and you spend the whole school year together, I used to miss your father and Remus when I had to go to my parents house over the summer and of course Ron can visit, he is welcome here anytime."

"Can I send him an owl tonight? You know to ask him when he can come."

Sirius nodded as he finished up his supper.

"Wicked, thanks!"

"I actually have plans to meet with Dumbeldore on Tuesday night so perhaps Ron can come then and keep you company while I'm out."

"Why do you have to meet Dumbledore?" Harry asked. And are you really meeting him or are you going to your parents house for another order meeting, he wanted to add but didn't.

"Oh we just have to go over some things," Sirius replied as he cleared the table and began brewing the tea, "He wants to make sure everything is going well with you, just checking in I suppose."

"I'm brilliant," Harry replied quickly, "I really am Sirius, you know that right?"

"Whoa calm down Pup, I know you are doing very well and so am I and Dumbeldore knows that as well but as part of the adoption process I have to meet with him every few weeks and discuss just how well we are both doing. I don't want you to worry yourself about it understood?"

Harry nodded. "I understand I just don't want him to think we aren't doing good."

"He won't Pup," Sirius smiled placing two cups of tea on the table. "Actually," he continued, "Why don't I owl Molly and arrange for Ron to come here on Tuesday night, I don't want you home alone, I may be gone for a few hours."

"But-"

"You can owl Ron too if you like," Sirius interrupted him, "But I'll take care of the asking part, I'm sure Molly will understand and allow him to come and spend a night or two."

"And you really don't care if I have friends here?" Harry asked as he sipped his tea. He really couldn't get over how cool Sirius was. His Aunt and Uncle never would have allowed him to have friends come spend a night at his house. They never would have allowed half the things Sirius did.

"Harry, you're friends are always, always welcome here. This is your home."

Harry smiled widely, his home!

"I can't believe you would think I wouldn't allow him here." Sirius continued before taking a swallow of his tea.

"It's not that I thought that," Harry replied in a sincere voice, "It's just that my Aunt and Uncle never let me have friends over, not that I really had any friends but if I did I know they wouldn't let them come over."

Sirius sighed, he had spoken to Harry in the past about his old life and it literally made him sick to think that Lilly's sister could treat him in such a horrible way. He had asked Harry many questions about them and how they treated them but there was one he hadn't asked, one he knew he had to ask.

"They were never physically abusive towards you were they Pup?"

"No," Harry shook his head, "They didn't hit me or anything, they didn't like to touch me."

Sirius nodded slowly. "I'm sorry I couldn't get you out of there sooner Pup."

"I know and it's okay."

Sirius smiled a small smile. He really hoped that Harry truly knew how much he wished he could have saved him sooner. Had he known how bad his life was he would have said the hell with the laws and taken him out of there in a heartbeat. The guilt he felt for not knowing, for his godson being treated how he had, was enormous. His one small saving grace was the fact that he had Harry now and he would make sure that everything was better for the boy. He would make every Christmas and every birthday special. And to his own surprise, it seemed as though he was really getting this parenting thing down. Harry seemed very happy and healthy and Sirius was as well.

**TBC...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed or added this story to your favorites or story alerts. I'm about halfway done the next chapter and I feel like I'm on a roll right now so I may post it as early as tonight but if I don't expect it by Friday at the latest. I'm going to see The Half-Blood Prince in IMax on Thursday and I'm so excited!!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"What time is he supposed to get here again?"

It was early morning, too early for Sirius' liking. He had been sound asleep when he had heard his godson making a racket down in the kitchen. His first instinct had been to ignore the noise, roll over, and sleep for another hour or so but unfortunately once he was awake…he was awake. He had never been the type to be able to fall back asleep after being woken, a trait that always annoyed him about himself. So here the two of them were eating breakfast as the sun came up.

"Not until after lunch," Sirius yawned.

Harry had asked the question at least three times already this morning alone.

Harry sighed loudly, "Well can't I floo over there and tell him he can come earlier if he wants?"

Sirius shook his head as he ate a mouthful of cereal. He then took his time chewing and swallowing before answering. "No, we aren't going to bother the Weasley's Pup, you're lucky he's even coming I told you Molly said he is supposed to be grounded for another week it's only because I explained the situation that she is allowing his grounding to end early. He'll be here before you know it, just relax and eat you've hardly touched your breakfast."

Harry sighed once more. "But Sirius," his voice contained just a hint of a whine, "Mrs. Weasley won't mind if I just ask if he can come a little earlier then-"

"I said no Pup."

"But Sirius!" His voice was now a full on whine.

Sirius looked up from his bowl of cereal and into his godson's eyes. He immediately knew that Harry realized he was stepping out of line simply by the look on the boys face. He could have been the poster child for a boy about to be scolded.

"It is way too early in the morning to hear you whine," Sirius replied in a low voice, "Now you can either drop the whining or you can go back up to your room and rest for awhile longer and when you wake up from your rest you can spend the day in your room until Ron comes, the choice is yours."

"I'm sorry," Harry mumbled looking down at his lap, "I'm just excited for him to get here."

"I know you are Pup," Sirius smiled, "But you have quite awhile before he does."

Harry nodded as he ate a bite of cereal remembering that his godfather had requested he do so several minutes earlier.

"And I have nothing to do until he gets here," Harry complained careful to keep the whining out of his voice.

"You could work on some more homework," Sirius replied fighting to keep the laughter out of his voice. He wouldn't be surprised if his godson went into a full on whine melt down after suggesting that but he couldn't help poking some fun at him.

Harry scowled at his godfather as he shook his head, "I don't want to do homework. What are you going to do today?"

"I hadn't really thought about it," Sirius replied as he finished off his cereal.

"Well can we do something fun?"

Sirius really wanted nothing more than to lie around for the day. Maybe read the newspaper or a book. He knew he'd be gone for several hours later in the evening and he really just wanted to relax for the day, however, when he looked up at his godson he knew his day of relaxing was long gone.

"There's a lake not far from here," Sirius noted, "It's actually only a short walk behind the house. We could go down there, maybe go for a swim."

"Brillant!" Harry exclaimed as he began eating much faster and quickly finished his breakfast.

Sirius chuckled as he carried the bowls over to the sink and quickly began to wash them.

"Can we go soon?"

Sirius glanced out the large kitchen window overlooking the backyard. The sun was high above them now and it seemed to be perfect weather for swimming.

"As soon as we're ready, why don't you go get changed. In my bathroom, under the sink there is sunscreen make sure you put plenty on and bring it downstairs with you, we'll bring it along."

Harry nodded as he quickly ran out of the kitchen. Seconds later Sirius heard him thundering up the stairs.

He smiled to himself as he set the bowls to dry and headed towards the stairs himself. Maybe I can relax some once Ron gets here, he thought chuckling as he heard Harry racing around to get ready.

* * *

"How did you learn to swim so well Pup?"

Dumbeldore as well as Harry himself had told Sirius many things about the Dursleys and somehow Sirius couldn't imagine that they would pay for swim lessons for Harry, nor could he imagine that any of them would take the time to teach him.

"Mrs. Figg taught me, she was my neighbor and sometimes when my Aunt and Uncle would go out she'd watch me and one summer they went to the beach for a few days and I stayed with her and she took me to the community pool and taught me to swim." Harry replied as he floated by Sirius on his back.

"Arabella Figg?" Sirius laughed, "I had forgotten all about her!"

"How do you know her?" Harry asked, "She's just some old lady, her house smells like cabbage."

Sirius laughed once more, "She's a squib Harry, Dumbeldore actually asked her to watch out for you while you were living with your Aunt and Uncle."

"She is?" Harry asked in amazement. "Why didn't she ever tell me?"

"You were too young Pup, there was no way anyone could have told you when you were that young and there was no place for you to go aside from your Aunt and Uncles, Dumbeldore thought it best that no one mention anything about who you really are until we could get you out of there once and for all."

Harry nodded as he watched his godfather dive under the water. That made sense to him, had Mrs. Figg told him anything about Hogwarts, or Sirius, or how his parents really died, or even what they were he probably wouldn't have believed her anyway. Honestly, he probably just would have thought she was going batty.

"She was always really nice to me," Harry noted when Sirius resurfaced, "Kind of like an Aunt or something."

"Arabella is a very nice lady," Sirius agreed.

"But her house still smelled like cabbage," he continued, "and she talked a lot about her cats."

"Well she's older Pup, I'm sure she enjoyed your company though and she obviously cared for you if she took the time to teach you how to swim."

Harry nodded smiling, "Yeah I guess she did."

"She did a good job as well, you're an excellent swimmer."

Harry smiled proudly. "Thanks! Malfoy always brags that he can swim better, Ron reckons that one day I should just jump in the lake and prove him wrong."

"Don't you dare," Sirius replied trying to keep his voice light and cheerful, "That lake is full of dangerous creatures. Jumping in that lake would buy you a first class ticket into deep trouble and not just with Dumbeldore but with me as well"

"I didn't say I was going to do it," Harry sighed as he waded out a bit further.

"I'm just making you aware of how dangerous that lake is Pup," Sirius replied. He ran a hand through his wet hair before speaking again, "We should probably head back, it's nearly time for lunch and then Ron will be here."

Harry nodded before jumping into a swim, "Race you back to the shore!" He yelled laughing as he passed his godfather.

Sirius laughed loudly as he dove off after Harry, "Why you little cheat!" Seconds later the two of them were on the beach drying off.

* * *

Harry was sitting in the armchair, watching the clock, and counting the minutes until Ron arrived as Sirius relaxed on the couch with his book.

"It doesn't move faster if you watch it," he chuckled not even needing to look up from his book to know exactly where Harry's eyes were.

"You said he'd be here right after lunch and we've been done lunch for ages."

"We've been done lunch for fifteen minutes."

"Seventeen," Harry replied whining.

"Is an age you might not see if you don't stop the whining," Sirius chuckled.

"You're kidding."

"Maybe," Sirius smiled.

"You are you know you are Sirius, you'd never-"

But Harry was cut off mid-sentence by a noise and then Ron stepping out of the fireplace, an overnight bag slung over his shoulder.

"Hey Harry!" The redhead smiled, "Hi Sirius, thank you for letting me visit."

Sirius smiled as Ron delivered the line that he was sure Molly made him swear to say. "Anytime Ron."

"We're gonna go hang out in my room okay Sirius?"

Sirius nodded happily. Complete silence while he read his book and relaxed and the boys entertained themselves upstairs…exactly what he needed.

The two boys raced upstairs and Sirius smiled once more as he heard Harry's bedroom door shut. The two of them together reminded him so much of himself and James and if he knew anything about that, he knew they'd be locked up there for hours. But then if they were just like himself and James would they behave up there for hours?

Sirius looked up for his book questioning whether he should continue reading upstairs so he could keep an ear out for trouble or even if he should tell the boys they needed to hang out downstairs.

Shaking his head he settled himself into reading once more. Their friendship may be similar to what he and James shared but unlike his father, Harry didn't go looking for trouble. Godfather and godson had an understanding now and Sirius was confident that Harry was not going to do anything to land himself in hot water. Just the look his face wore this morning alone was enough to tell Sirius that Harry was not going to step over the line in any major way. And if all Sirius had to deal with was some whining here and there, he considered himself a lucky, lucky man.

* * *

"It's definitely a meeting tonight," Ron nodded.

Ron and Harry were perched on Harry's bed. Normally Harry would have immediately wanted to go outside and play Quidditch with his best mate or even play a game of chess but all that was on his mind was what could possibly be taking place in a few hours time.

"My mum asked Percy if he would watch everyone while she and my dad had dinner with an old friend tonight," Ron continued, "and she didn't say which friend and if Sirius told you he was going out too then I'd say they're all a bunch of liars."

"And Sirius said he'd be gone for a few hours," Harry commented, "So it's probably an important meeting."

Ron nodded enthusiastically.

"So we need a good plan, no an excellent plan because we can't get caught, you just got done being grounded and Sirius wouldn't be happy."

"Sirius is wicked mate, he probably wouldn't care," Ron smiled.

Harry forced a smile. A huge part of him wanted to correct Ron and tell him just how wrong he was. A huge part of him wanted to confide in his best mate that if Sirius caught them at the meeting his bum would probably be so sore that he wouldn't be able to ride his broom for weeks. A huge part of him wanted to tell the redhead that not only was he lying but Sirius had said his house was dangerous and so he was breaking another rule by putting himself in danger and that he was praying that breaking two rules didn't mean he might get two spankings. A huge part of him wanted to say that these were all the reasons they had to have a great plan because Harry didn't want to find himself in any of these situations.

But he didn't tell Ron any of that because an even bigger part of him liked that Ron thought Sirius was so cool because really he was, after all Ron had been grounded for weeks for going after the stone and Harry had received one smack and an hour's worth of homework. And Harry had woken him early today and then annoyed him by whining and all Sirius had done was scolded him a bit. Sirius was wicked and Harry didn't want his best mate to think otherwise.

There was also a big part of him that wasn't ready to share that part of his godfather. Ron had had parents all his life but this experience was all new for Harry. He wasn't ready to share the side of his godfather that worried about how much he ate and when he went to bed and could make Harry feel so remorseful by just looking at him a certain way.

"Well he didn't tell me about the meetings," Harry finally replied, "so I don't want him to know so we need a really, really good plan."

"We have your cloak," Ron reminded him.

Harry nodded, "And I know what to say in the floo but we have to be really quiet under the cloak Ron, really quite. Quieter then we've ever been before under it."

Ron nodded, "No kidding, mum will murder me if I get into any trouble while I'm staying here."

"We should wear our pajamas," Harry noted, "so in case we have to get back here quick we can stash the cloak and we'll look like we've been here all along."

Ron nodded in agreement.

"And we can't go into the room that the meeting is in, that seems too risky."

"We'll listen at the door," Ron agreed.

"And we can't touch anything; Sirius said there are a lot of things that are cursed in his house."

"Blimey Harry you're starting to sound like my mum with all these rules," Ron laughed as he lay back on Harry's bed.

"I'm serious," Harry replied, "We have to be really careful!"

Ron nodded as he reached onto Harry's bedside table and retrieved a Quidditch magazine. "We will be," he answered as he began to turn the pages.

Harry smiled forcing himself to relax and praying Ron was right. If they were quiet and didn't touch anything and left before the meeting was over there was really no way they could get caught. After all, with his cloak they were invisible.

He flopped onto his stomach beside his best friend and as the two of them enjoyed the amazing pictures in the magazine all Harry's nerves and guilt slowly washed away.

**TBC...**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: As I said, I was on a roll tonight. Enjoy this chapter and please feel free to tell me what you like or don't about it...just please do it nicely. I'll try and have the next chapter up by Friday night.**

* * *

"McGonagall used to have us in her office at least once a week," Sirius laughed, "I think she secretly wished we were in another house every time she took points from us."

It was later in the evening and Harry, Sirius, and Ron were gathered around the table finishing up their supper. Sirius was telling them old stories of the mischief he and James had gotten into while Harry forced himself to listen and laugh when it was called for.

Harry always enjoyed the stories Sirius told by tonight all he wanted was Sirius to leave so he and Ron could get their own mischief done and over with. He was curious about the meeting but at the moment his nervousness about being caught was outweighing his curiosity. It wasn't so much that he feared being punished if he got caught, not that he wanted a spanking, but more that he didn't want to disappoint his godfather.

He watched as Sirius laughed over a time that he and James had flooded the boy's bathroom. Harry loved his godfather's laugh. It was the kind of laugh that you couldn't help laughing along with.

His insides hurt in a way he couldn't even explain. Guilt. The thought of his godfather knowing what he and Ron were about to do. The thought of Sirius catching him, of having to punish him was killing Harry. He was so tempted to forget the whole thing, to tell Ron that it was a stupid plan and that he didn't want to do it.

Harry glanced at Ron who was stuffing his face full of dessert and laughing along with Sirius. He looked as though he didn't have a care in the world. There was no way Harry could tell him. He didn't want Ron to think he wasn't brave and he definitely couldn't tell him why he wanted to back out. No, it wasn't an option.

"I'm going to have to skip out on tea tonight," Sirius smiled, "But I'll make it up to the two of you tomorrow. How about we go back down to the lake tomorrow or even go for a trip to Diagon Alley?"

"Wicked!" Ron replied stuffing the last of his ice cream into his mouth.

"Cool." The word came out of Harry's mouth but he didn't remember speaking it. The lake or Diagon Alley? He didn't deserve either.

Sirius smiled once more as he cleared off the table. "I have to go in a moment and I'm probably not going to be home until late but you two don't need to wait up for me."

Harry nodded feeling if possible even worse. Sirius was so cool that he wasn't even going to say they had to be in bed by a certain time in front of Ron.

"Just please make sure the house is still standing when I return," Sirius laughed as he walked by Harry ruffling his hair on the way. "I'll see the two of you later, have fun."

Sirius smiled to himself as he walked towards the floo. He had to admit that a few hours ago he was quite nervous about leaving Harry and Ron alone for the night. Remus had suggested that he get a babysitter to keep an eye on them but Sirius knew how well that would go over with two pre-teenage boys. After all, Harry would be twelve in a few short weeks. And now as he stepped into the floo he felt completely confident that the boys would be fine. After all they had played quietly in Harry's room all afternoon and then they had come downstairs early to help him prepare dinner. They would probably spend the night playing chess and then fall asleep early.

* * *

Harry and Ron waited a full fifteen minutes after Sirius left before they put their plan into motion. The boys raced upstairs and quickly changed into their pajamas, leaving their slippers behind.

"They'll make too much noise," Harry explained as Ron raised an eyebrow at him.

They pulled the cloak off the top shelf in Harry's wardrobe and raced back downstairs positing it over themselves and checking themselves in the mirror to make sure you couldn't see any part of them.

"Remember we have to be absolutely quiet," Harry reminded Ron hoping his voice didn't give away how nervous he really was.

Ron nodded as the two stepped into the fireplace.

Harry took a deep breath as he closed his eyes tight and said the words as clearly as his shaking voice would allow, "Black Manor."

Seconds later the two of them stepped out of a fireplace and into a dark, dreary room. The furniture was all covered in black sheets and it looked as though no one had cleaned the place in a thousand years.

"This has to be the place," Harry breathed the words in a sound lower then a whisper and Ron nodded in reply.

Slowly the two began walking through the room headed for the large opening, which clearly lead to a main hall of sorts. As they stepped into the hall, voices began to be heard.

"Are you sure you heard a noise?" The familiar voice of Remus asked and Harry immediately felt his blood run cold.

Quickly he and Ron took several steps back until they were up against a dirty wall.

"Positive," the voice of Severus Snape answered causing Harry to hold his breath.

Harry could feel that Ron was also holding his breath as Snape inched closer to them, so close in fact that Harry swore he could feel his breath.

"It was probably just the house," Remus finally said, "You know how this place is."

Snape nodded once starring in the direction of Harry and Ron.

"Perhaps," he finally muttered as he finally looked away and followed Remus back down the hallway.

Once they were both out of sight Harry exhaled and he heard Ron do the same. Slowly the two began to walk once more, careful to remain quiet.

"All I'm saying is that if he was able to present himself in some form then he is most likely getting stronger and the time when he is ready and able to fight is unfortunately probably rapidly approaching," Harry heard Remus say.

He and Ron stopped walking outside of a large room. Harry's eyes widened as he saw just how many people were sitting around a long wooden table. Of course all the people he expected to see where there, Sirius, Remus, Ron's parents, Snape, and Dumbeldore but there were quite a few others he didn't know.

"I agree with Remus," Arthur Weasley nodded, "I'm sure he is doing everything in his power to regain strength and it will probably happen much sooner then we like."

"He is in hiding," Snape spoke, "He may be regaining strength but if he is then it is news to any of his followers, when Potter defeated him once again he vanished and no one has spoken to or seen him since."

Harry watched as Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Problem dog?" Snape's voice was like ice.

"No problem," Sirius shook his head, "I'm just still not convinced you are to be trusted."

Harry's heart soared with pride for his godfather. He felt the same way about Snape and he was proud of his godfather for voicing his opinion.

"Sirius," Dumbeldore's voice was calm but it presented a warning.

"I admit I have played my role well, so well in fact that many may doubt me but my concerns are greatly on the side of the good, the side of this order, and the side of Potter."

Harry sucked in his breath as Ron elbowed him in the ribs. What Snape was saying made no sense, Snape hated him.

"My godson is none of your concern," Sirius answered quickly.

"Your godson is reckless," Snape replied, "He could have easily gotten himself killed while going after the stone and I don't doubt that he will put himself in danger again and so while at Hogwarts his safety is my concern whether you like it or not."

"Harry will not put himself in danger again," Sirius stated simply, "I have talked to him about it."

Harry felt him insides coil as Sirius spoke. He was horrible, simply horrible for being there. For going against everything his godfather told him, for disobeying and putting himself and Ron in danger. Everything in him told him to turn around and go home but they had come this far.

Snape rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you have. You, one of the most reckless students Hogwarts ever had, as I already stated I will be keeping an eye on Potter while he is at Hogwarts."

"Remus will be there to do that, there is no need for you to do anything," Sirius nearly shouted the words.

"Now Sirius," Dumbeldore spoke calmly, "Remus will be keeping an eye on Harry, as do I and as will Severus, one more pair of eyes can never hurt."

Sirius sighed obviously realizing he was fighting a loosing battle.

"Harry is a good boy," Molly spoke softly, "and I know you are doing a wonderful job with him Sirius but I agree that the more people keeping an eye on him the better."

Snape nodded obviously pleased with Molly's approval. "And where is Potter tonight? Home alone and able to get into trouble?"

"Ron is with him," Sirius defended the situation, "The boys are fine, they've been perfect angels all day."

"And I asked Percy to check on them at least once," Molly added, "Just to be sure they aren't getting into anything they shouldn't be."

Harry felt the blood drain from his body as he began inching away from the door.

"Harry," Ron whispered the word and Harry could feel the fear in his tone.

Quickly and quietly the two of them backed down the hallway and into the room with the floo. Without checking to make sure no one was following or listening Harry grabbed a handful of floo powder off the mantel and threw it into the fireplace. Stepping inside he quickly said their destination.

They stepped into the living room to hear the sound of Percy upstairs.

"Are the two of you here or not?" His voice rang throughout the house loudly.

Harry whipped the cloak off of them and quickly stashed it behind the armchair before grabbing Ron by the arm and pulling him into the kitchen. Thinking faster then he probably ever had in his life, he opened the back door and slammed it loudly.

"Ron!" Percy's voice rang out once more. "Harry!"

"We're down here," Harry yelled as Ron stared at him wide eyed.

"Just follow my lead," Harry whispered seconds before Percy entered the kitchen.

"And just where were the two of you?"

"Out back", Harry answered, "I was showing Ron where we can play Quidditch tomorrow."

Percy eyed the two of them as if he suspected they were lying. His eyes lingered on Ron and Harry prayed that he didn't know his brother well enough to know that the story was rubbish.

"You should really stay inside this late at night while you are home alone," Percy finally answered, "Didn't Sirius tell you not to go outside?"

"No," Harry answered honestly, "and we were only out there for a minute."

"We won't go out again," Ron finally spoke.

"Alright then," Percy replied, "Do the two of you need anything or can I return home?"

"We're fine," Harry answered, "We were just going to play some chess or something."

Percy nodded as he turned and headed towards the living room, Harry and Ron following him.

"If you need anything floo home Ron," he said before stepping into the fireplace, "And behave yourself…mum will go simply mental if you don't."

Harry and Ron nodded as Percy disappeared.

"That was so close!" Ron exclaimed the minute his brother was out of sight. "I thought for sure we were caught!"

"So did I," Harry admitted retrieving his cloak from behind the chair and heading for the stairs with Ron right behind him.

"I couldn't even breathe when my mum said Percy was going to check on us."

"Neither could I" Harry sighed as he walked into his room and immediately stashed his cloak back on the top shelf of his wardrobe, "I was afraid we were going to get caught by Snape too."

Ron nodded quickly, "Me too mate. I thought for sure that greasy git was going to catch us."

Harry flopped down on his bed completely physically and mentally exhausted from what they had just been through.

"And how about the git saying you are his main concern, what a load of bull!"

Harry nodded as he chewed on his bottom lip. He didn't really want to remember that part of the meeting, the part where Sirius had totally stuck up for him. The part that made him feel like the worst person in the world.

"Do you think it's true?" Ron asked as he sat down next to Harry. "Do you think he's gaining power?"

Harry shrugged. "Probably," he yawned, "I don't think he's just going to give up."

"I can't believe we had to leave early," Ron continued, "the meeting is probably no where near over and they're probably going to say loads more interesting stuff."

"Ron no," Harry replied quickly, "We can't go back, what if Percy comes back here?"

"Well no not this time, but we could go again!"

Harry shrugged as he chewed on his bottom lip once more. He couldn't go again and he knew it. He felt bad enough about going just this once. So bad in fact that his stomach actually hurt in a way he couldn't even explain. No, there was no way he could lie to Sirius more and go back again, there was just no way.

"I think going again might be pushing our luck," Harry finally said, "I mean we nearly got caught twice tonight."

"But we didn't," Ron pointed out.

"No we didn't", Harry agreed, "But I can't go again."

"Why? We could go next week or even wait a week or two and then go."

"I can't Ron."

"But why?"

Harry felt his face begin to burn and his throat go dry as he opened his mouth. "Because if Sirius finds out I'll get my arse whacked."

Ron was quite for several seconds and Harry felt for sure that he was going to burst out laughing.

"Well yeah I mean my mum will make whatever Sirius does look like a few love pats but aren't you curious?"

Harry's eyes widened at Ron's remark. "I am curious but I'm not that curious…at least I don't think I am, I have to think about it."

Ron nodded as he yawned, "Alright mate, think about it and let me know."

* * *

It was late when Sirius arrived home, well after midnight. After the meeting he had stopped off at the Weasley's and was informed by Percy that Harry and Ron had been in the yard the first time he stopped by and sound asleep across Harry's bed the second time. Sirius had felt a soar of happiness when he heard the news, he was so proud of his godson for behaving all night.

Before heading to bed he stuck his head into Harry's room to find the two boys, sleeping on top of the blankets next to one another. He smiled to himself as he closed the door quietly and headed to his room. Tomorrow he would take them both out for ice cream for being so well behaved and then maybe he'd even buy them each a little treat.

* * *

"You can each get a few chocolate frogs," Sirius smiled at his godson and his godson's best friend.

Ron smiled happily as he picked up a packet of chocolate frogs but Harry's smile was forced.

He and Ron had woken up to Sirius cooking them both breakfast. After they had eaten and dressed he had taken them back to the lake to swim for a few hours. After that it was back home to bathe and change once more and then off to Diagon Alley where they had had lunch and ice cream for dessert. Then he had taken them both to the Quidditch store where he had bought them each a magazine and now here they were getting chocolate frogs.

It should have been the perfect day and it would have been if Harry's guilt wasn't eating him alive. He knew all of this was some kind of reward for being so well behaved. After the way Sirius had stuck up for him last night and the things Harry had heard him say, it was obvious he was rewarding him. The problem was, Harry, unlike Sirius, knew he didn't deserve the reward.

"We should probably head home now," Sirius smiled as he paid for the chocolate frogs. "Maybe you two can play some Quidditch before supper."

Ron smiled happily and Harry wondered if his friend had any conscious at all. Or maybe it was different for Ron because he had always had his parents.

"Maybe after we eat supper we can do something fun," Sirius continued.

Harry forced a smile and a nod as he followed his godfather down the street.

_Do something fun?_ He thought to himself. _I am slowly dying here and all he can talk about is doing something fun!_

"I have the perfect plan," Sirius smiled as the three of them stepped back into his living room, "After supper I can teach you boys some fun pranks you can pull with simply your wand alone. I know you can't do magic over the summer but there's no reason you can't learn something fun without actually doing it."

"Wicked!" Ron explained.

But this was all too much for Harry. The swimming, Diagon Alley, the gifts, and now teaching them pranks! Harry felt his insides hurt the way they should in a horrible person. His blood ran cold through his body. And then without any warning at all, Harry threw up all over the living room floor.

**TBC...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Once again thank you for all the support (reviews, alerts, etc.) The next chapter will most likely be on the long side so that'll make up for this one being shorter. Expect the next one sometime next week though I may just suprise you all and get a chance to post it on Friday, we'll see.**

**Enjoy! And as always feel free to tell me what you like or hate about it...just do it nicely.**

* * *

"You're going to tell huh?"

It had been forty five minutes since Harry had sicked up all over the living room carpet and he and Ron where finally alone.

After he had lost his lunch and ice cream, Sirius had practically carried him up to bed, despite Harry's protests that he was alright and he could walk. His godfather then proceeded to check his temperature and ask him a million and one questions about how he was feeling. Harry continued to try and assure him that he was fine, that he probably just ate too much ice cream, that he wasn't sick, and that he wasn't going to throw up again. Finally after promising to call for him if he felt even slightly ill and after Ron promised to do the same if Harry's even looked slightly ill, Sirius left the two boys alone while he went, Harry assumed, to clean the living room carpet.

"What?" Harry asked as he glanced at his friend who was sitting on the edge of his bed.

"I know you Harry, you're my best mate and I know that look you have on your face, you feel guilty."

Harry sighed. He hadn't banked on Ron being so assertive. True, he could read Ron like a book but apparently he hadn't given the redhead any credit as far as just how well he could read him.

"I didn't say that," Harry finally replied in a low voice.

"But you're thinking it, I know you are…that's why you got sick!"

"I'm not going to tell," Harry promised, "I'm not going to rat you out, I would never do that."

Ron nodded silently.

"You don't feel guilty?" Harry finally asked.

Ron shrugged. "A little I guess but not enough to get into trouble…we got away with it Harry! We didn't get caught!"

"I know."

"Then just forget about it, Sirius will never find out, how could he?"

Harry had to admit to himself that Ron did have a valid point. There was absolutely no way that Sirius would ever find out. Their plan had worked perfectly and they had left behind no evidence what so ever. Still, it didn't feel right. The success of not getting caught, felt all wrong.

"He can't," Harry finally admitted, "I know he won't find out."

"Unless you tell him and that would just be bonkers mate."

Harry nodded once more.

"But you're going to, I know it."

"I said I won't!" Harry exclaimed getting annoyed by Ron's pestering. "You're my best mate, I would never rat you out and get you into trouble…never."

* * *

It was dinner time when Sirius was finally convinced that Harry wasn't deathly ill and allowed him to get out of bed. He had mentioned the idea of sending Ron home so he didn't get sick as well but the look on Harry's face clearly told his godfather that doing so would crush him and so Ron would stay another night.

"I don't want you to eat too much, just have some soup," Sirius instructed as they sat down for supper.

"I feel fine Sirius…_really_."

"I know but just to be on the safe side."

Harry nodded as he ate a mouthful of his tomato soup.

"And you two probably shouldn't stay up until all hours of the night tonight," Sirius went on sounding more like Molly Weasley then himself, "Besides Ron has to head home early tomorrow."

"My brother Charlie is coming to visit," Ron said as he ate a mouthful of bread, "You have to meet him while he's here Harry he was a seeker too."

Harry looked at his godfather.

"If it's alright with Molly and Arthur you can visit sometime while he is here," Sirius smiled.

"Wicked," Harry replied smiling. He was trying hard to act like his normal self. He had promised Ron he wouldn't rat him out and he intended to keep that promise. So if he wasn't going to do anything about his guilt, he'd have to swallow it and move on. What else could he do? One thing was for sure, he couldn't go on letting his guilt eat him alive, he'd end up throwing up again and if he did that Sirius would most likely cart him off to St. Mungo's.

"I'll ask my mum if maybe you can stay over this weekend."

"Cool," Harry nodded happily.

"I can't believe the summer is already half over," Sirius noted, "Pretty soon the two of you will be heading back to Hogwarts and I'll be sending you owls everyday I'll be so bored."

"You can always visit, Remus will be there."

"He will?" Ron asked.

"You didn't tell him?"

Harry shook his head. All their attention lately had been going to plotting their mission to see a meeting it had completely slipped his mind to tell Ron anything about Remus teaching.

"Remus is going to be the new Defense teacher," Sirius informed Ron smiling.

"Oh that's wicked," Ron exclaimed, "We need more teachers we like and less like that git Snape."

Sirius suppressed a chuckle as he ate a mouthful of food.

"So see you won't be bored," Harry noted, "You can come visit me, Remus, and Ron."

"And make sure you aren't getting into any trouble?" Sirius asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"We don't go looking for it," Ron immediately came to their defense, "It usually finds us is the problem."

Sirius laughed loudly at this. "Finds you does it? Well that's good to know! I know when I was at Hogwarts I often went looking for it myself."

"Ron and I are really good," Harry nodded, "Practically angels compared to you and dad."

Sirius laughed once more. "I'm not sure about angels but I have to admit you are fairly better behaved then we were in our day, if your grandparents would have left us home alone for hours when we were your age there is no telling what mischief we may have gotten into."

Harry felt his guilt creeping up on him once more but he quickly pushed it back down by forcing himself to talk.

"You did things at my grandparent's house too? I thought you just got into trouble at Hogwarts?"

"Oh no we pretty much got into trouble everywhere," Sirius laughed, "I can remember a time when we practically set your dad's bed on fire from shooting off fireworks we had made ourselves…apparently we didn't do such a good job with them as they didn't go out the window like we planned but more just exploded on sight."

Harry and Ron's eyes both widened.

"Was my grandfather mad?"

"You bet your arse he was, he was downright furious with the both of us."

"Fred and George tried to make fireworks once, set the field on fire behind our house but mum was off visiting her Great Aunt and my dad just put the fire out and told them never to tell mum."

Harry laughed as he could fully picture Mr. Weasley doing such a thing. "Your dad never gets mad."

"Only once," Ron replied as he finished off his dinner, "Fred and George tried to make me take the unbreakable vow and dad caught them."

"They didn't?" Sirius asked in a shocked voice, "I can see why your father would be mad."

"What's the unbreakable vow?"

"It's when you do this spell and promise something and if you break your promise, you die," Ron replied in a very matter of fact voice.

"That's mental!" Harry exclaimed.

"It was used centuries ago as marriage vows," Sirius explained, "But these days it's really just dark magic. You're brothers are quite the handful aren't they?"

Ron nodded. "Mum reckons they gave her all the gray hair she has."

* * *

After supper Sirius suggested that Ron and Harry go relax upstairs and Harry knew by the look on his godfather's face that he was still worried that Harry was sick. Feeling guilty about putting that look there, Harry didn't argue once.

"It's your turn," Harry noted as he stared at the chess board.

The game was nearly over and Ron was winning. Actually this was the fourth game they had played and Ron had won them all, not that Harry minded.

"I know it is, I'm thinking," Ron replied before carefully selecting a piece and moving it and then smiling as it attacked Harry's piece.

A knock sounded on Harry's bedroom door followed by his godfather's voice, "I'm heading to bed boys, don't stay up too late."

"Night," they both responded before turning their attention back to the game.

Harry moved a piece, knowing that he wasn't going to win, and not really caring which piece he moved where.

"Don't let me win!"

"I'm not, you kicked my arse three times already and I have no hope of coming back now," Harry smiled.

Ron returned the smile as he moved once more, destroying yet another of Harry's pieces.

"Do you want to go to bed?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged as he glanced at the clock. It was close to midnight and Ron did have to leave sometime after breakfast.

Ron began to clean up the game and Harry smiled happy that he wasn't the only one that was tired.

The boys climbed into bed and Harry removed his glasses placing them on his bedside table before turning out the light.

"Night Ron."

"Night Harry."

"Hey Harry."

Several moments had passed but Harry was still wide awake. He rolled over to face his best friend before answering.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for not ratting me out…that was really decent of you."

"You're welcome," Harry smiled.

"I'm sorry you feel so guilty."

"It's okay," Harry replied, "I'm feeling better about it now, you were right we won't get caught,"

"We probably shouldn't go again."

"No, probably not."

"Yeah," the redhead agreed.

And several moments later, his breathing told Harry that Ron was asleep.

* * *

"Thank you for letting me visit," Ron said to Sirius as he stepped into the fireplace. "I had a wicked time."

"You're welcome Ron and you are more than welcome to come back anytime."

Ron smiled, "Bye Harry."

"See ya Ron."

And with that, he was gone.

"So did you have a good time with Ron?" Sirius asked as he sat down in the armchair.

Harry nodded taking a seat on the couch, "Thank you for letting him visit."

"Of course Pup and if his parents say it is alright you can visit him as well."

"Cool."

"And now I have a question for you that you won't like."

Harry glanced at his godfather. Did he know? Was he going to confront him about it all? Was he just waiting until Ron left to say something?

"How much of your homework have you done?"

Harry let out a low sigh of relief. "Just the essay I did the day you told me to."

"And how much do you have left?"

"I have an essay for History of Magic and one for Potions," Harry replied in a bored tone.

"And as much as you are going to hate this, I think you should do at least one of them today Pup. If you are going to visit Ron this weekend and if you want to have some sort of party for your birthday next weekend then you need to get some of this done."

"A party?" Harry couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice if he tried.

"A party," Sirius nodded supressing a laugh, "A gathering of friends to celebrate an event."

"I know what a party is! I get to have one?"

"Do you want one?"

Harry nodded quickly.

"I was thinking you could invite Ron and Hermione to spend the night and maybe we could have them plus Remus and maybe Dumbeldore over for cake, maybe even the rest of Ron's family."

"Really?"

"Yes really" Sirius laughed, "It's your birthday we have to have a party."

"And all I have to do is homework?"

Sirius laughed once more, "I'd throw you a party even if you didn't do your homework Pup but I prefer you do it because I am asking you to."

"I'll do it!" Harry exclaimed jumping up. "I'll do both essays today!"

"That's fine but if you want to do one today and one another day this week that's fine too."

Harry nodded enthusiastically as he headed towards the stairs. "Will you check it when I'm done?"

"I will," Sirius smiled.

Harry raced up the stairs as Sirius smiled watching him go. Yes, he would most definitely be throwing his godson his first birthday party.

* * *

Harry had finished his essay for History of Magic at least thirty minutes ago but he couldn't bring himself to find his godfather and have him check it. A party for his birthday had originally caused him more happiness then he thought possible, and it was Sirius' idea too. It wasn't even like he had asked for it. But he didn't really deserve it.

Harry sighed loudly to himself. He was a liar and he didn't like it. Of course he had lied many times in his life, to his Aunt and Uncle, to Dudley, to McGonagall, to Dumbeldore, even to Snape but it never felt like it did now. He never felt guilty lying to any of them. However, he felt more than guilty lying to Sirius. He felt horrible.

But he couldn't tell him for several reasons. He couldn't rat out Ron. He had given Ron his word and he wasn't going to go against it. Ron trusted him and Harry wasn't about to break that trust no matter how horrible he felt. Also if he told Sirius everything he had done, Sirius might not trust him anymore and he didn't want that. He also might start to think that he lied all the time and he didn't want that either.

He sighed once more as he picked up his essay and made his way out of his room, off to search for his godfather.

He didn't have to look far Sirius was right where he left him, sitting in the armchair looking at the newspaper.

"Done already?" He asked when he spotted Harry slowly making his way down the stairs.

"Just the History of Magic one," Harry replied handing him the essay, "I'll do the other one this week, I promise."

"That'll be fine," Sirius smiled as he put down his newspaper and began to read Harry's essay.

After correcting a few spelling mistakes Sirius handed back the essay, a smile on his face. "I'd say that is excellent work right there."

Harry forced a small smile as he took back his essay and sat down on the couch.

"Everything okay Pup? You look a little down."

Harry sighed as he swallowed hard knowing what he had to do and hating that he had to do it.

"Sirius I need to talk to you."

**TBC...**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: I had some extra time on my hands tonight and the need to finish writing this chapter and to post it was killing me so here it is. As always feedback is welcome and encouraged. Expect the next chapter sometime Monday night or Tuesday.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Sirius looked up at his godson and upon seeing his face immediately folded his newspaper and placed it on the table, giving Harry his full attention.

"Is everything okay? Are you okay? Are you feeling sick again?"

"Have you ever promised a friend something and then had to go back on your word?" Harry asked ignoring the questions he had been asked.

Sirius nodded slowly, "Yes."

"Can you tell me about it?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"What is wrong Harry?"

Harry looked into his godfather's eyes and saw fear mixed with confusion. His first instinct was to just start talking, to tell Sirius everything, but he couldn't do that.

"Just please tell me and then I'll tell you everything. I promise."

Sirius sighed as he ran a hand through his long hair. Quite a few instances came to his mind but out of those there weren't many he was ready to share with his eleven year old godson.

"There was once," he finally spoke, "When your dad and I were probably about thirteen. We snuck off to Hogsmeade through a secret passage. I was caught and your dad wasn't. I swore to your dad that I wouldn't tell but unfortunately I had racked up quite a few disciplinary acts that year and they knew I hadn't gone out of the castle alone. They threatened to expel me if I didn't tell them who I was with and so I told."

"Was he mad at you?"

"For a day or so but we quickly patched things up, he knew I couldn't be expelled and made to go live back with my parents and the only punishment we really received was a few detentions."

"Did you feel bad telling on him?"

"Horrible," Sirius answered quickly, "Absolutely horrible but I felt I didn't have a choice."

Harry sighed as he chewed his bottom lip. "If I tell you something do you promise not to tell anyone else?"

"Of course Pup," Sirius answered a little too quickly for Harry's liking.

"No really, even if there is someone you might think you need to tell, promise me you won't."

"What is this all about Harry?" That look of fear was back in his eyes.

"Promise Sirius," Harry pleaded, "You have to promise or I can't tell you…I won't tell you."

Sirius studied his godson's face for several moments before he nodded seriously. "I promise Harry."

"Really? No matter what I say you promise?"

"Harry if you are in danger or ill then I have to tell someone."

"I'm not," Harry replied quickly.

"Then you have my word, I won't tell anyone."

Harry nodded softly as he took a deep breath swallowing the huge lump that was forming in his throat.

"What is it Pup? It can't be all this bad?"

"Its worse," Harry muttered softly, "It's so worse then whatever you are thinking."

Sirius sighed as he starred at his godson. Something was obviously troubling him deeply and it pained Sirius to see him this way.

"Harry whatever it is you can tell me, you know that. I've given you my word that I won't breathe a word of it to anyone else."

Harry took another deep breathe as he silently worked up the courage to start talking. It was really now or never and he knew that.

"I have a lot to tell you and you're going to be mad at me but I really need you to just listen first and let me get it all out and then you can say whatever you want or yell all you want or whatever…okay?"

Sirius nodded quietly as he leaned back in his chair, giving his godson the floor so to speak.

Harry's eyes traveled downward and he suddenly found himself very interested by a fray on the end of his jeans.

"Last week when you went to see Remus, Ron came over while you were gone and told me where you really were…at your parent's house at a meeting." Harry paused as he glanced up quickly at his godfather. He didn't look mad…yet. His eyes traveled back down to the fray as he continued. "He knew because he overheard his parents talking. So we were curious as to what it was all about. So then the other night when Ron was here, after you left we took my cloak and followed you we were outside of the door for some of the meeting and we left when we heard Mrs. Weasley say that Percy was supposed to check on us. When we got home Percy was upstairs so we went into the kitchen and I slammed the door and lied to him and told him we were out back and that I was showing Ron where we could play Quidditch." Harry paused for a moment, wanting to glance at Sirius but too scared of what he may see there to do so. "That's why I asked you about the floo's and what you had to say to get to your parents and that's the real reason I wanted Ron to spend the night."

Harry continued to examine the fray on his jeans for several long minutes after he finished his confession. He didn't dare look at his godfather and he didn't dare move. He just sat and waited. And then finally Sirius spoke.

"Is this also the reason you sicked up yesterday?"

Harry nodded softly still unable to look up.

"So let me make sure I have this all straight. You lied to me last week by never telling me that Ron came by when I asked how your night was. You lied when you were asking about the floo. You lied the night before last when you followed me and you continued to lie all day yesterday and last night."

Harry nodded softly as the first tear of many, he was sure, slowly made its way down his cheek.

"And not only did you lie but you put yourself in danger. I point blank told you just how dangerous my parent's house is and you followed me there anyway. Actually I told you that I would never take you there because it is dangerous so you were well aware that I wouldn't want you there correct?"

Once more Harry nodded.

"And I suppose you made me promise not to tell anyone because you don't want Ron to get into trouble?"

Again Harry nodded still unable to look up. "I promised him I wouldn't rat him out, I gave him my word," he mumbled.

Sirius sighed loudly as he ran a hand down his face.

"And I gave you mine so I won't be telling the Weasley's anything about this."

Harry's heard soared as his head snapped up at his godfather. Of course Sirius had given his word but Harry had been sure that once he had heard the story he would decide that he simply had to tell and Harry was ecstatic that that wouldn't be the case.

And then he saw his godfather's face and all the ecstasy he had been feeling quickly vanished.

"However," Sirius continued, "You are in a world of trouble."

Harry's head quickly dropped once more.

"Look at me Harry."

Slowly he brought his head back up allowing his eyes to meet his godfathers.

"I am very proud of you for coming to me and telling me the truth, I know that couldn't have been an easy thing to do. I am also proud of you for keeping your word to Ron you are a good friend and kind person."

Harry nodded sadly trying to force a smile but failing miserably.

"And I want you to know why I didn't tell you about these meetings myself," Sirius continued, "They are dangerous Harry. At any moment death eaters could discover where we are and why and attack. When you were a baby, when your parents were alive we started The Order because there was a war going on. We were preparing to fight Voldermort at any cost. When he reappeared to you and you defeated him once more early this summer, it occurred to us that the possibility of him coming back is approaching rapidly and so we started the Order once more. Now I am well aware that you have defeated him twice in your eleven years and that you may feel like you had the right to know about these meetings but as your guardian I disagree. You are only a child Harry and though you have done the impossible and defeated him twice, it is not your job to go looking for a fight."

"I'm not a child," Harry muttered shocking himself. Here he was up to his eyeballs in trouble and he was talking back on top of it. But Sirius didn't seem angry just now, he seemed sad.

"Yes you are and you have every right to a childhood. You have every right to be protected by adults and to have adults handle the problems and if you won't fight for your childhood I will."

"I'm sorry I lied to you," Harry said softly.

"So am I," Sirius replied in a sad voice. "I'm sorry you lied and I'm sorry you put yourself in danger and I am sorry it is my job to punish you."

Harry chewed on his bottom lip as his eyes slowly wandered back down to the fray.

"I need you to go to your room Pup…I'll be up shortly."

Slowly Harry stood up and headed towards the stairs, pausing for only a moment at the bottom as if he wanted to say something and then changed his mind before heading upstairs to his room.

* * *

Sirius sighed loudly as he ran his hands down his face before resting his elbows on his knees, leaning forward, deep in thought. His first instinct was to floo directly to Remuses and ask him for advice but he wouldn't do that, he couldn't do that. Of course Remus would be happy to give it to him and knowing Remus his advice would be right. But in Sirius' opinion, advice was what you asked for when you already knew what to do and didn't want to do it or wanted someone to tell you to do it. And he knew what he had to do.

He closed his eyes as his mind went back to the days he spent at the Potter's with James. He and James had gotten into plenty of trouble in their years as friends and Mr. Potter had always handled the discipline. That was how James' parent's worked. Mr. Potter was a very loving and kind man but he was also the disciplinarian in the house. Mrs. Potter was better left to consol the boys after they had been punished and sneak them up extra dessert as if treats and cakes could fix a sore bum.

Sirius knew how much James respected his parents and he knew that if he were alive he would have followed their example. He could clearly picture James being the loving, kind father yet doling out the discipline when needed while Lily took care of the softer side of things.

Unfortunately though, James and Lily weren't here, Sirius was and he would have to play both parts. He would have to hand out the punishment and then make sure he consoled and spoiled just a little afterwards. As he knew from his own experience that children needed both.

Sirius sighed loudly as he chastised himself. Here he was thinking everything was going swimmingly. He had even said the boys were perfect angels if he remembered correctly. And all the while they had been plotting behind his back and lying to him. Yes he knew what needed to be done now.

But Harry was a good kid and he knew that too. Yes he had made several major mistakes in the last few days but everyone makes mistakes and he had had the courage to come to Sirius and confess. Sirius and James would have never confessed in their day, not if they knew they had gotten away with it. And Harry and Ron had gotten away with it they had been in no danger of being discovered. Yes, Harry was a good kid. A good kid who was waiting upstairs to be punished for lying and putting his life in danger.

Swallowing the feeling of dread that was building in his stomach Sirius quietly rose from the couch and headed towards the stairs. There was no sound coming from above and he took that as a good sign, at least his godson wasn't packing once more convinced he was going to be shipped off.

Slowly he began climbing the stairs forcing himself to put one foot in front of the other. Harry was going to hate this, simply hate it. But then, Sirius wasn't too fond of it himself. He remembered once when he and James had nearly killed themselves after they had snuck into the forbidden forest in the middle of the night. When Mr. Potter got wind of the situation they had both been flooed back to the Potter's at the request of James' parent's. Mr. Potter had been furious and he had made that know on both James and Sirius's backsides. And when he was done he held Sirius, something his own parents never did, and told me it had hurt him just as much as it had Sirius. At the time Sirius had thought the man was mental but now he fully understood. His insides practically quivered as he stood in front of his godson's bedroom door. Raising his hand, he knocked once, softly before opening the door and walking in.

* * *

Harry was sitting on his bed, his legs hanging over the side. He wasn't crying but Sirius could see that he was close to it.

Sirius walked into the room quickly retrieving Harry's desk chair and placing it across from the bed before sitting in it and facing his godson.

Without being told to do so and without any hesitation Harry got up and approached Sirius standing to the side of him, looking down at his feet.

"I want you to know that I meant what I said Harry, I am proud of you for coming to me and telling me the truth and I am proud of you for being such a good friend. You are a good kid but unfortunately you've made a few big mistakes."

Harry nodded quietly before draping himself over his godfather's lap. He wasn't even sure if he was supposed to do so but he figured that if he was getting a spanking this would be the easiest way and he wasn't going to fight it. He deserved this and he knew it. He had lied on purpose and he was well aware that he was putting himself in danger by going there. He didn't want a spanking but he didn't care if Sirius spanked him until he was black and blue as long as Sirius would forgive him once it was over.

Sirius looked down at the jean clad bottom presenting itself on his lap. As he had been walking upstairs he was fully preparing himself for Harry to have an attitude and fight him every step of the way or to be a mess crying making it impossible for Sirius to carry out the task at hand. He was not at all ready for Harry to submit so willingly to his punishment but then maybe Harry really did realize how wrong he had been. After all, he had confessed knowing what the punishment was for lying and for putting himself into danger as well.

So before he lost his nerve, before he could think too much more about the task at hand, Sirius raised his hand and brought it down hard on Harry's backside.

Harry's body jerked but he made no noise and Sirius brought his hand down hard once more. He kept count in his head. He had decided on his trek upstairs that he would dole out twenty, ten for lying and ten for putting himself in danger. He knew he had to be hard on the boy but he didn't want to be too hard either.

On the fifth smack, Harry grabbed a handful of Sirius' pant leg, holding on tightly. And on the seventh the flood gates opened.

"I'm sorry," he whimpered through his tears as Sirius landed the tenth smack to his bottom.

"I know," Sirius whispered landing yet another. He probably shouldn't have said it, but he did know.

"I won't do it again, I'll be good," his godson cried as the twelfth smack landed hard.

Sirius quickly landed three more on the lower part of Harry's bottom, the part where he would feel it when he sat down, before he stopped and began rubbing Harry's back soothingly. There was no way he could do twenty, just no way. The sound of Harry's crying was breaking his heart and he knew that Harry had learned his lesson.

If Harry noticed that Sirius had stopped he didn't show it. He continued to cry deeply and clutch his godfather's pant leg.

Finally after several long minutes Sirius put his hands under Harry's arms and helped him to position himself so he was sitting on Sirius' lap. The moment the two were face to face Harry's arms immediately went around Sirius' neck and he buried his face in his godfather's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he muttered the tears still streaming down his face; "I am so sorry Sirius."

"Shhhh Pup, I know you are," Sirius replied softly as he rubbed Harry's back, "You're forgiven."

"I never meant to lie to you or put myself in danger."

"I know Harry, I know," Sirius reassured him soothingly, "I'm sorry I had to spank you but you have to understand that you mean too much to me to let you put yourself in dangerous situations. I love you to much Pup and if you ever, ever put yourself in a dangerous situation again we'll be right back here and next time will be much worse, do you understand."

Harry nodded into Sirius' neck.

"Good," Sirius whispered as he wrapped his arms around his godson hugging him. "I hated doing that to you so please don't give me a reason to do it again."

"I won't, I promise."

Sirius hugged him tighter as he smiled to himself remembering a hundred promises he had made that were just the same. He knew that Harry would most likely find himself in trouble again; he just hoped that next time it wouldn't involve him risking his life.

The two sat there for along time and Harry continued hugging Sirius long after his tears stopped. Finally his arms loosened his hold of his godfather and he sat back to look him in the eyes.

"I really am sorry."

"I know you are and I really do forgive you."

Harry nodded softly.

"However I do think you should spend the day in your room and think about what you did and maybe you could even finish your last essay."

Harry nodded once more. One day in his room wasn't all that bad after all.

He chewed his lip as he asked the question that he really hoped would have an answer he liked. "Can I still go to Ron's this weekend?"

Sirius thought about this for a moment before nodding once. "You can but you and Ron had better stay out of trouble."

"We will," Harry answered quickly.

"I mean it Harry…any trouble at all and you'll find yourself back in the position you were just in."

"No I know…really Sirius I do."

Sirius nodded smiling. "I know you do."

And really, he did.

**TBC...**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: I apologize for how long it took me to get this chapter up, life has been a little crazy lately. As always thank you for the support and constructive criticism is always welcome. Enjoy the chapter! And expect the next one soon!**

* * *

Four hours later Harry was lying on his back on his bed starring at the ceiling. He had finished his essay and Sirius had looked over it and deemed it perfect work though Harry was sure Snape wouldn't agree, and now he was bored out of his mind. He glanced at the clock for what seemed like at least the hundredth time in the last ten minutes, 3:11. He was going to die of boredom in this room, he was sure of it.

He had to admit though, he felt loads better. Of course his bum still tingled slightly but it was rapidly deteriorating. He didn't feel bad about anything else at all though. He was glad he had told Sirius the truth and that he had found a way to do it without getting Ron into trouble. And Sirius had forgiven him and as far as Harry could tell he didn't think any differently of him for the things he had done either. After all, he had brought Harry's lunch up and he had been cheerful about it, or as cheerful as one could be while delivering lunch.

Although he was glad he had confessed he wasn't at all glad that he was confined to his room. He hadn't expected that part of his punishment. Of course he knew it wasn't really that bad. One day in his room was not the end of the world. However, he still had three hours until Sirius was supposed to bring him his dinner and he was slowly going insane.

When he had lived with his Aunt and Uncle he had been sent to his hole under the stairs and then his room, loads of times. Practically on a daily basis and he had never really minded. But then when they had sent him to his room it was almost like a reward, it was time away from them, time away from their remarks and hatred. Living with Sirius, it was a completely different form of punishment. Harry didn't want time away from his godfather and being confined to his room while Sirius was downstairs doing something brilliant Harry was sure, was pure torture. He silently vowed to himself to never do anything that would cause his godfather to ground him to his room again.

Harry sighed loudly as he tried to think of something, anything to occupy his time. There were things he could do of course. He could clean out his trunk or clean his room altogether, he could read one of his books or magazines, he could even take a nap, but none of those options sounded very appeasing to him.

He wondered if being grounded to his room meant that he couldn't send out an owl. He could write a letter to Ron and maybe one to Hermione too but when he really thought about it, he really didn't even feel like doing that.

He sighed once more as he kicked his leg against his bed. Yes, he was going to die of boredom in his room.

* * *

Sirius sat in his armchair reading a book or rather pretending to read it. He had been on the same page for the last thirty minutes and honestly he just wasn't interested in reading anymore. Sirius was bored. He had thought about paying Remus a visit but he didn't want to leave Harry home alone. He had told his godson that he had to spend the day in his room and so far he had done so without any arguing but Sirius knew that Harry was probably bored out of his mind and he didn't want to give his godson any chance to disobey him. Not that he wanted to have the mind set that Harry would automatically leave his room if no one was home but Sirius knew what it was like to be sent to a room for the day. It was boring and horrible and he knew that when he was young if he was sent to his room and then left home alone, he wouldn't have stayed there.

Sighing Sirius questioned himself on why he had told Harry to stay in his room at all. After all, he had delivered a proper spanking and wasn't that punishment enough? Making his godson spend the day in his room seemed like more of a punishment for Sirius anyway. However, he also knew that he couldn't just go upstairs and tell Harry that he no longer had to stay in his room. No, that would be the worst thing he could do.

Harry needed consistency and Sirius recognized that. He couldn't change the boy's punishment halfway through it that would send his godson the wrong message completely.

Sirius sighed once more as he attempted to concentrate on his book but his mind wandered back to his godson. Though this time he wasn't thinking so much about the boy sitting up in his room but more all the boy had confessed to land him in his room.

Harry had been quite honest about going to the meeting and also about being there for quite a while and yet Sirius hadn't questioned him at all about what he heard or how he felt about what he heard. He sighed as he set down his book. He had to go take care of this.

* * *

Harry rolled over onto his stomach and began to pick at a loose string on his bedspread when there was a soft knock on his bedroom door.

"Come in," he said the words in a bored voice.

The door slowly opened and Sirius entered the room. "How ya doing up here Pup?"

Harry gave his godfather a half shrug. "I'm bored."

"Well this is a punishment," Sirius noted, "But I came up here because I wanted to talk to you so at least I'll be able to cure you of your boredom for a few moments."

Harry pulled himself up into a seating position as his godfather sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Talk to me about what?"

"Well about the other night, you said that you and Ron were at the meeting for a bit and that you listened to a bit and I was just wondering what you heard and if you are okay with what you heard."

Harry chewed on his bottom lip as he thought this over. "I'm okay," he finally stated.

"You're sure about that?"

"Yes," Harry answered slowly, "but I am a little confused."

"About?"

"I heard Snape say that he is on my side and that he wants to watch me and he hates me Sirius."

"Snape does not hate you Pup."

"Yes he does! He is horrible to me at school! He is forever giving me detention or embarrassing me in class! That greasy git hates me!"

Sirius suppressed a chuckle at his godson's outburst. He really wanted nothing more than to agree with Harry on all accounts but he knew he couldn't do that. Regardless of how he felt about the bat, Harry needed to form his own opinion and he needed to know the truth.

"He was a good friend of your mother's Pup," Sirius replied, "He may get annoyed with you because you are so much like your father and he and Snape were not friends but he was a good friend to your mother and because of that he wants to protect you."

"From Voldermort."

Sirius nodded softly, "Yes. It isn't a given fact that he will come after you once more but with the track record we have to take protecting you seriously. This is why you not putting your life in danger is so important. Everyone, myself, Dumbeldore, Remus, your other teaches, the Weasley's, and Snape want to keep you protected."

Harry blushed involuntarily at the mention of not risking his life and quickly changed the subject. "He was friends with my mum? How come I didn't know that?"

"Well I didn't imagine he would tell you and I just never thought to tell you myself but yes, they were friends, good friends. They grew up together and remained friends almost until we were done at Hogwarts."

Harry chewed on his bottom lip as he mauled this information over. "What about my dad? Didn't they hate each other?"

"Hate is a strong word. They disliked each other greatly."

Harry nodded slowly as he glanced up at his godfather. "Hey Sirius?"

"Hmm?"

"I've been really good and stayed in my room all day."

Sirius nodded as an amused smile danced on his lips. "Yes, you have."

"So can I come downstairs now?"

Sirius wanted so badly to say yes but he knew that doing so would send several wrong messages, including just how serious he was to be taken so softly he shook his head. "No, I'm sorry Pup but you really need to just stay in your room."

"But it's so boring in here! Can I just come downstairs for maybe an hour and then I'll come back up?"

He shook his head once more.

"But Sirius please," Harry pleaded his voice dripping in a whine.

"I said no, this is part of your punishment."

"But I was honest and I came to you and confessed everything! And you are punishing me for telling a lie but you lied to me about where you were going when you went to the meetings!" Harry's voice was growing louder now combining his whine with a bit of a shout. A voice inside of him was telling him to shut it but he ignored it.

"That was different and you know it. There is a difference between me telling you something to keep you safe and you telling me something and then going behind my back and putting yourself in danger."

"That's bull," he replied hotly.

Sirius felt his anger rising in him and he took several deep breaths attempting to reel it back in before responding to his godson.

"Do not speak to me that way Harry James!"

Harry's heart beat quickened at the use of both his first and middle names. Sirius hadn't ever called him Harry James and his doing so immediately made Harry want to crawl under his blankets and never come out but something in him just wouldn't let him give up so easily.

"But I have been good all day today and you did lie to me!"

Sirius sighed loudly, "The answer is no Harry, you knew the rules and you disobeyed them

"This isn't fair!" Harry whined loudly.

"Isn't it now? I think one day of being grounded to your room is perfectly fair however if you disagree you can stay up here tomorrow as well."

Harry quickly shook his head but his glum expression didn't fade.

"I thought you might see it my way," Sirius replied as he stood up and headed for the door, "I'll bring your supper up later."

Harry's reply was to sigh loudly and fall backwards on to his bed so he was now lying on his back. He heard Sirius pause for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't, he simply walked out closing the door behind him.

Harry kicked his foot into the frame of his bed in frustration. He knew he had been a right git. He totally deserved a day in his room after everything he had done but he still couldn't help being annoyed and angry at the whole situation. After all he had confessed and he had been good all day. Plus Sirius had walloped him, wasn't that enough punishment?

He contemplated pushing his luck and calling Sirius upstairs and apologizing and then asking if maybe he could eat his supper downstairs with his godfather but a loud pop vanished his thoughts and caused him to sit up quickly and nearly scream when he did.

There, standing mere inches away from him was a strange looking creature.

"Don't be alarmed Harry Potter Sir. I'm a house elf, my name is Dobby."

"A house elf? Dobby?" Harry hardly realized he was even speaking.

The little creature nodded happily.

"How do you know my name?"

"Everyone knows you Harry Potter Sir, even the house elves."

"Why are you here?"

"I'm come to deliver and important message Sir."

"Okay." Harry nodded slowly.

"Harry Potter Sir can not return to Hogwarts School." Dobby said in a very serious voice looking almost scared of the words he was speaking.

"What do you mean? Of course I can! I have to!"

Dobby shook his head quickly. "No Sir I'm sorry but you cannot!"

"Stop calling me Sir, Harry is just fine really."

Harry watched as the house elf began weeping excessively.

"Stop!" He shrieked. "Why are you crying?"

"Oh Dobby had heard of Harry Potter's greatness but never his kindness."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the creature before shrugging. "It's not a big deal, really. But you have to understand I have to go back to Hogwarts, what else am I supposed to do?"

"Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, he can arrange for Harry Potter to be tutored."

"Do you know Sirius?"

Dobby shook his head.

"Sirius wants me to go back to Hogwarts, I have to go back!"

Dobby shook his head once more. "Bad things will happen if Harry Potter returns to school."

"How do you know this?"

"Dobby can not answer that my master would punish Dobby severely."

"Who is your master?"

Dobby shook his head once more, tears rimming his eyes.

Harry sighed loudly. "Look I don't know why you came here but I am going back to Hogwarts, I have to."

"Dobby is warning Harry, it is for his own good to stay away."

"Harry!" Sirius' voice called up the stairs. "Who are you talking to up there?"

"Don't tell him," Dobby whispered before there was a pop and he vanished.

Harry's bedroom door opened and Sirius walked in looking absolutely confused.

"Who were you talking to?" He asked as he looked around the room.

Harry wanted to tell his godfather the truth. He wanted to explain what had just happened and tell him the whole story. He wanted to but he was still angry about being grounded to his room for the day.

"I wasn't talking to anyone," he replied hoping his voice sounded honest.

**TBC...**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: Once again thank you for all the reviews and all the other support. I really appreciate it. I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up, I just started classes and life has been a little hectic. I promise to get the next one up soon!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Harry sat at the table watching his godfather sip his tea. He had woken up this morning and immediately ventured out of his room now that he was allowed. It had felt like ages since he had been downstairs. Harry had expected Sirius to be cross with him today, after the way he had acted the day before, but Sirius was anything but. He had taken Harry to the lake for the day and then the two had spent the late afternoon flying around the backyard.

Harry watched his godfather add more sugar to his tea as he thought about the strange visit from Dobby he had encountered the day before. He still hadn't mentioned a word of it to Sirius and he didn't really plan on it. He knew it was wrong to lie to his godfather, he definitely knew that, and he didn't want to be caught in a lie anytime soon but something was still keeping him from telling. He didn't feel quite as guilty as he did when he was keeping the huge secret of the meetings and that alone spoke volumes to Harry. After all, it was just some house elf, it was probably a stupid prank done by Malfoy or someone, nothing to worry about and certainly nothing to go running to Sirius about. However, he was feeling guilty about something else.

"Sirius?"

Sirius looked up from his tea to see his godson sitting across from him, his eyes gazed down, which was never a good sign with his eleven year old.

"Yes Pup?"

"About yesterday…I'm sorry for how I acted when you came up to talk to me."

Sirius smiled softly. "It's okay Harry."

"I was horrible," Harry continued, "And you were right, I deserved to spend the day in my room."

"I'm glad you understand and that you don't think I was just trying to be mean," Sirius replied in a gentle voice.

"No I don't think that…I can still go to Ron's tomorrow right?"

Sirius nodded sipping his tea. "You can, I told Molly and Arthur that you would be over around lunchtime and they are fine with that."

Harry smiled at his godfather.

"I also told them that if there is any trouble they are to notify me and send you right back," Sirius continued in a warning tone.

"I don't always get in trouble," Harry noted before sipping his tea.

"I'm not saying that you do. However, I know you and Ron together and I know that trouble seems to follow you two. The Weasley's are being very nice to allow you to visit when they already have a full house with Ron's brother home and all, so I expect excellent behavior."

Harry thought about pointing out that he wouldn't purposely get into trouble at Ron's house and that he would never disobey Ron's parents but he decided against arguing and simply nodded instead. "I know Sirius."

"I know you do Pup, I am just reminding you."

* * *

"Charlie said later we can all play Quidditch," Ron explained as he led Harry into his room. "Well Ginny can't but who would want her to anyway?"

Harry smiled in reply as he threw his overnight bag onto the extra bed in Ron's room.

"She's absolutely beside herself that you're here, mental that one, she has the biggest crush on you."

"She does?" Harry asked and he could feel himself blushing slightly.

Ron nodded as he flopped down onto his bed. "Yeah you're all she talks about, when she talks that is, these days she is mostly in her room writing in her dumb diary."

"Hey Ron?" Harry asked as he sat down on the bed, "Do you know about house elves?"

"Course," Ron replied, "Funny creatures they are, only really wealthy families have them and Hogwarts has them too, they cook the food and clean and make our beds and stuff. Why?"

"One visited me the day before yesterday."

"Huh?"

"Yeah he just kinda appeared in my room, his name was Dobby."

"Why did he visit you? House elves don't really just drop in to visit."

Harry scrunched up his nose slightly hoping that when he told his friend why he would have the same reaction Harry did. "He said he came to tell me that I can't go back to Hogwarts that it'd be dangerous for me too, but I'm thinking it was probably just a prank or something."

"Effing Malfoy," Ron sneered, "It was probably him just trying to scare you or something."

"You think his family would have a house elf?"

"Probably more than one," Ron nodded, "They are bloody loaded."

Harry nodded softly. "I didn't tell Sirius about it."

"Why would you? Unless you need help thinking of a way to get Malfoy back."

Harry chuckled at this as Ron's bedroom door opened.

"Ron mum said to…"

Ginny had barged in without so much as a single knock talking before the door was even fully open, however, the moment she saw Harry her mouth quickly closed and her face began to redden.

"Mum what?" Ron asked.

"To go de-Gnome the garden and to take Harry with you," she said the words in barely a whisper.

"Hi Ginny," Harry smiled hoping to put her at ease.

But his words did anything but, the moment he spoke to her she made a high pitched squeaking noise and turned and fled Ron's room closing the door behind her.

"See, completely mental." Ron sighed.

* * *

It took Harry and Ron over an hour to de-Gnome the garden. As they were finishing Fred, George, and Charlie came outside inviting them to join in a game of Quidditch. The teams were uneven and not very fair placing Charlie, Harry, and Ron against Fred and George but it was all in good fun and once the game was over they continued to fly around, racing one another and trying different tricks.

"You really are first rate on a broom," Charlie nodded to Harry as he watched the younger boy soar towards the ground and then fly straight back up seconds before he was going to hit it.

"I told you he was," Ron smiled at his brother, "He's the youngest seeker in a century."

Harry blushed involuntarily as he listened to the two brothers discuss him. Sometimes he wondered if he deserved all the credit he got for his flying abilities. Sure, he was good at it but he was almost positive that it was simply because his father had been. He knew he looked just like his dad, aside from his eyes, but he wondered if magic abilities and the skill to fly could be inherited too. He'd have to remember to ask Sirius.

* * *

Molly Weasley was standing at the kitchen sink peeling potatoes for supper. Every once in awhile she would look up and out the back window to check on the boys. Of course Charlie was out there with them and that calmed her nervousness some, but not completely. Charlie was older and more mature then the others but he was still a boy and Molly Weasley knew boys, if she knew nothing else, she knew boys more specifically, she knew her boys. She knew that they liked to show off and take risks and that they always seemed to find trouble, even if by complete accident. She loved them of course, she loved them all dearly, but knowing that four of them were outback flying, five if you counted Harry which of course she did, made her more cautious of keeping an eye on them. She was still in shock that Ron had managed to spend two nights at Harry's and stay out of trouble.

Sirius had sent her an owl about this weekend though, thanking her for allowing Harry to visit and instructing her that if there was any trouble to return him home with a letter explaining the trouble. Molly had read and re-read that owl several times. It wasn't that she liked to think badly of people because she really didn't but she couldn't help but have her doubts about Harry living with his godfather.

She knew Sirius Black. He was a bachelor. He had been an unruly child and teenager. Of course he had gotten better after the Potters had taken him in but Molly still wasn't convinced that he was a suitable guardian for an eleven year old boy that had the weight of the world on his shoulders, a poor childhood in his past, and a knack for getting into trouble.

No, the last few months of the school year and the first few weeks of the summer it had taken all of Arthur's persuasion to stop Molly from fighting to take Harry in herself. She knew how to raise boys and in her mind, Harry would be better off with them. She knew boys needed love and compassion but they also needed discipline and she was sure Harry wasn't getting any of that from Sirius.

Until she received his owl that is.

After reading it several times to be sure she hadn't misunderstood it appeared that he was really taking this parenting thing seriously. When that thought initially occurred to Molly, she could have been knocked over with a feather, but now several days later the idea had settled with her.

She glanced up once more as she watched the boys fly around the yard, careful not to do anything too daring, and she smiled softly to herself. Yes, there was something different about Harry. Something that she could only define as a parents love. It seemed to her that Harry was being well looked after and that he now had someone who loved him unconditionally, someone who cared for him, someone he was made to answer to. Molly smiled once more.

* * *

Harry and Ron were sitting on the floor of Ron's room playing a game of chess. It was late, long after supper, and Molly had already been in to say goodnight and tell the boys not to stay up too much longer. Harry was proud of himself, he had been at Ron's for a whole day and they hadn't gotten so much as scolded for anything. Of course Fred had dared Harry to surf on his broom and it had been hard to turn down the dare but he had done it, even though he was really tempted to try and surf for just a moment or two. Still, he hadn't and that was what mattered.

"We should ask Fred and George for ideas on how to get back at Malfoy for sending his house elf to mess with you."

Harry nodded as he moved one of his pieces.

"Absolute git he is," Ron continued as he studied the board, "Hermione is coming here for a week before school starts, she's going to go shopping for school things with us and then to get on the train with us, you should come too."

Harry didn't know how to tell his friend that he really didn't want to. Of course it would be fun to shop with his friends and spend a few nights at Ron's but it would also be his last few days with Sirius before leaving him until the Christmas holidays and Harry didn't want to spend those days away from him.

"Maybe, Sirius might have stuff planned," he finally answered.

"Yeah maybe but we should at least all go to the station together. You and Sirius could come with us, dad has some muggle car that we're going to take he bewitched it so it can fly but mum won't let him fly it with all us in it."

"It can fly?" Harry asked in a skeptical voice.

Ron nodded. "If mum goes to bed early tomorrow night I'll tell dad to let you see him fly it. He won't let us go with him on the count of mum would kill him if he did."

Harry chuckled at this. There was no doubt in his mind that Mrs. Weasley would indeed kill Mr. Weasley if she saw Ron and Harry flying around out back in a car.

"We should plan something for right when we get back," Ron continued, "Get Malfoy into big trouble or hex him or something."

Harry nodded as he yawned. "You really think it was just a joke right?"

"Of course," Ron replied as he finally moved a piece, "Hogwarts is the safest place ever, how could you be in danger being there?"

Harry shrugged as he watched Ron's piece attack his own ending the game.

He wanted to point out that they had been in danger there when they had gone after the stone. They probably could have gotten killed several times that night. They also had been in danger when they went after the troll. Harry wanted to point these things out, but he didn't. After all in both of those instances they had gone looking for trouble and those days were over for Harry.

"I bet Fred and George have something good we could use on Malfoy or maybe Hermione could even come up with something," Ron continued as he pushed the chest game to the side.

"We just have to be careful not to get caught," Harry noted as he stood up and walked across the room flopping back on the guest bed that was occupying the corner of Ron's bedroom.

Ron nodded quickly. "We won't."

"Especially with Remus teaching this year," Harry continued in a yawn, "We have to be really careful not to get into too much trouble this year."

"Remus is cool, I doubt he'd care."

Harry raised an eyebrow. Remus was cool, Ron was right but cool or not Harry was pretty sure that if he got himself into too much trouble Remus would be sure to tell Sirius all about it.

* * *

Harry sighed as he listened to his best mate snore away peacefully. He wasn't sure what time it was but he knew it was late. Mr. Weasley had been the last one in the house to go to bed and that had been at least an hour ago.

At first he wasn't sure what was wrong with him. Why he couldn't fall asleep. What the feeling was that was taking over his stomach. And then he knew.

He missed Sirius.

It was actually taking everything Harry had in him not to get out of bed and floo himself home this very instant. He wanted to but he knew he couldn't. He would look like such a baby if he couldn't get through one measly night away from his godfather. After all what was he going to do when he had to go back to Hogwarts? Floo himself home every night so Sirius could tuck him in? No, that was out of the question. As was going home tonight. He was just going to have to ignore the feeling and force himself to get some sleep. Maybe he could make up some excuse tomorrow to go home and not spend a second night at the Weasley's but he couldn't leave tonight, he just couldn't.

Harry sighed once more as he rolled over and closed his eyes tightly. Yes, tomorrow he would come up with an excuse to go home and tonight, he would suffer in silence.

**TBC...**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: As always thank you for all the support and kind words, I really appreciate it. As I said when I first started this story, this is the first time I've ever written fan fiction and you all have just been too kind about it. I'm really enjoying writing this story and I plan to keep it going for quite a few more chapters. I also already have a new story brewing in my head. **

**Enjoy this chapter and as always feedback is appreciated! I have the next two chapters pretty well mapped out so expect them soon!**

* * *

Harry awoke early the next morning to Ron still snoring across the room which was exactly what he had hoped for. He wasn't sure his plan would work if Ron was awake and his plan absolutely had to work.

He missed Sirius too much to spend another night away from him. The way Harry figured he had two options. Two sure fire ways to go home without actually saying why he wanted to go home. He could either get himself into trouble, or he could pretend to be sick and he wasn't about to get himself into trouble. His godfather had been more than clear on exactly what the penalty for his offenses would be and he was definitely not going down that route again anytime soon.

It wasn't that he hadn't been having a good time at the Weasley's, he's actually been having a brilliant time, but the way he figured there was only so many more days before he'd be leaving Sirius for months and he couldn't stand to be away from him before he had to.

Slowly and without making any news at all he crept of bed and towards the door. Careful to turn the knob slowly so that it wouldn't wake Ron he let himself out of the bedroom and began his venture down the stairs. He had hoped that he wasn't too early and that someone would be awake and he was right. His nose told him all it had to, delicious smells were rising up the stairs and it was obvious that Mrs. Weasley must be in the kitchen making breakfast. He passed the twins room practically holding his breath as he did. His doubts about convincing Ron that he was sick was nothing compared to the twins, he knew for sure they would never buy his story.

He stepped off the last step and into the living room and breathed a sigh of relief, he had made it all he had to do now was convince a mother of seven that he was sick.

Slowly Harry made his way towards the kitchen, stopping once he reached the doorway. Mrs. Weasley was standing at the stove, her back facing Harry. Trying his hardest to look unhappy, Harry cleared his throat loudly before speaking.

"Mrs. Weasley?"

"Harry dear," Molly smiled, "You're up early! Ron doesn't usually roll out of bed for at least another hour or so. No matter though, breakfast will be ready shortly." She paused as she really stopped to look at the young boy standing in front of her. "Is everything okay love?"

Harry shook his head slowly. "I really don't feel well."

Molly immediately dropped the towel she was drying her hands on and rushed over to Harry's side placing a hand on his cheek and then moving it to his forehead.

"You don't feel warm, what doesn't feel well."

"My throat…my throat hurts."

Molly crouched down in front of him, "Open wide dear, and let me have a look."

Harry quickly obliged praying that she would see something even though he knew nothing was there.

"It looks just fine to me."

Harry closed his mouth and chewed on his bottom lip. "And my stomach…I might sick up."

Molly placed her hand on his cheek once more. "Sick up hmmm?"

Harry nodded quickly. "And I have a bit of a headache."

Molly nodded once before looking down at the eleven year old before her. "What is this really about Harry?"

"I feel sick," he replied in a small voice.

"I raised Fred and George Weasley dear, I know a few tricks of the trade and you are not sick nor do you feel sick. Now I know you and I know you wouldn't come down here telling a lie for no reason so what is this about? Did you and Ron have a row?"

Harry shook his head. "No ma'm."

"Did the twins do something?"

Harry shook his head once more.

"Well then?" Molly raised an eyebrow.

"I…I miss Sirius," Harry practically whispered the words.

A smile crept across Molly's face as she looked down at the boy. Of course he missed his godfather. He finally had a family worth missing.

She watched as Harry shifted from one foot to another. He was looking down at his feet and Molly was sure that he was preparing himself to be scolded for telling a lie, after all she knew that look well.

"Go on upstairs and get your things love and then you can floo home, if anyone asks you have a slight fever and a bit of a cold."

Harry's head immediately jerked up, his face plastered with a smile.

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley!"

"No need to thank me dear."

Molly watched as Harry raced up the stairs. _That Sirius Black is a lucky man_, she thought to herself smiling, _a very lucky man._

* * *

"Sirius!" Harry yelled as he stepped through the fireplace.

"Harry?" Sirius came running into the living room from the kitchen. "What are you doing here? Are you hurt? Is everything alright? You didn't get into trouble did you?"

Harry shook his head. "I just missed you."

"You what?"

"I missed you so I told Mrs. Weasley I was sick but she knew I wasn't and she said I could come home and that she wouldn't say I left because I missed you but just because I had a bad cold."

"You lied to Molly?"

Harry nodded softly. He hadn't thought of it as lying but he really had. That was probably as bad as purposely getting into trouble to get sent home. Sirius was probably going to be mad at him for lying it was a rule after all, one of the major ones actually.

"I missed you too Pup," Sirius smiled pulling his godson into a hug, "It was too quiet around here without you."

"You aren't mad that I lied?"

Sirius shook his head, "Not at all! As long as Molly knows the truth now and isn't worried about your well being it's fine."

Harry smiled as he hugged his godfather back.

"Did you eat breakfast?"

"No," Harry shook his head.

"Well then let's go, I have eggs cooking."

* * *

After breakfast Sirius and Harry lounged around in the living room just enjoying one another's company. Sirius read some and Harry mostly looked through his magazines. It was a nice, relaxing morning and then Sirius remembered the plans he had made.

"I have a meeting with Dumbeldore at three," he noted not looking up from his book.

"Can I come? Please Sirius?"

Sirius shook his head. "Not today Pup, we have to talk about private matters. I think I'll floo Remus though and ask him to come keep you company."

"I don't need a babysitter," Harry mumbled more to himself.

"He won't be babysitting, just keeping you company."

"But I'd be fine by myself," Harry replied.

Sirius shut his book as he looked up at his godson. Harry was laying across the couch on his stomach a magazine under his nose. He wanted to put all his faith in his godson and leave him home alone but after the last time he wasn't sure that was such a good idea. Besides, Harry was only eleven. Sirius was never left home alone at that age.

"You like Remus," Sirius finally spoke, "The two of you will have a good time together."

"I know I like Remus but I don't need him to come watch me, I didn't get into any trouble at Ron's you know and I could have! Fred dared me to surf on my broom and I didn't do it!"

"I know you didn't get into trouble Pup, I just feel more comfortable if you are here with someone and not alone. I'm sorry but that's just the way it is, you are only eleven, having Remus here while I am out isn't a bad thing."

"I'm going to be twelve in a week!" Harry all but hollered the words as he sat up.

Sirius sighed loudly. He wasn't in the mood for an argument or for his godson's attitude. He had to be a parent and he knew it, the subject wasn't up for debate.

"Do not raise your voice at me Harry! I am well aware that you are about to turn twelve, however, I do not want you home alone for a long time and I may be gone for a few hours so Remus is going to come here while I am."

"That's effing bull and you know it!" Harry replied angrily as he stood up and walked out of the room. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "You just don't trust me. You think that I'll get into trouble again and that's bull!"

And with that he ran up the stairs.

Seconds later Sirius heard Harry slam his door shut. He had half a mind to follow his godson right up those stairs. He had half a mind to go give him the lecture of his life. He had half a mind to wash his mouth out for speaking to him like that and to ground him to his room for the day. But he wouldn't do any of those things. First he had to calm his temper and while he did that he would visit Remus and ask him if he could come over later.

* * *

The moment the door slammed Harry knew he had gone too far. He held his breath as he waited to hear his godfather storming up the stairs. He was done for and he knew it. Sirius had been so cool earlier not even caring that he lied. Come to think of it, Sirius was so cool about a lot of things and Harry had gone too far. He had yelled and been mean and hadn't he apologized for doing the same thing not even forty-eight hours ago? Yes, he was definitely in for it now and he deserved it.

He waited for five full minutes standing just on the other side of his bedroom door and heard nothing. Sirius was seriously going to let him just get away with that outburst? There was no way.

And then there was a pop behind him.

Harry turned around quickly to see Dobby standing on the foot of his bed.

"Not you again," he moaned, "Look you can just tell Malfoy that his prank isn't working!"

"Prank?" Dobby asked. "This is not a prank Harry Potter Sir. Bad things, dangerous things are going to happen."

"Stop saying that!" Harry demanded.

"But it's true Sir!"

"It isn't!"

"Harry Potter cannot return to Hogwarts School," Dobby insisted.

"I have to!"

"Harry Potter cannot and Dobby will not let him," Dobby replied before snapping his fingers and disappearing.

* * *

"Of course I can come over later today Padfoot, I don't mind in the least."

"Thank you, I just don't feel comfortable leaving him home alone after last time."

"Understandable," Remus replied as he eyed Sirius up and down. "Now that we've gotten that business taken care of, why do you look as though you have the weight of the world on your shoulders?"

"Harry and I just had a bit of a row," Sirius replied as Remus handed him a cup of tea. "He isn't exactly thrilled about you coming to watch him and he's had a bit of an attitude today."

"A bit of a row?"

"He said some things, yelled some, used some language he is well aware I don't approve of."

"So overall he was just disrespectful?" Remus asked knowingly.

Remus loved Harry very much. He often thought of him as his own godson or at least as a nephew. Honestly if heaven forbid anything ever happened to Sirius, Remus would take the boy in in a heartbeat. However, just from observing Harry this summer and hearing stories from Sirius and Dumbeldore he knew that the eleven year old could also be a handful.

Sirius nodded as he sipped his tea.

"And where is Harry now?"

"In his room I assume, he stormed up there and slammed the door behind him."

"Padfoot you can't just let him-"

"I know I can't Moony, I am fully prepared to go deal with my little monster I just came here to talk to you first and to cool down my temper."

Remus sat back in his chair. To say he was shocked would be an understatement. He was aware that Sirius was doing much better with the whole guardian situation but he had no idea he was doing this well.

"James would be proud of you Sirius, as would Lily."

Sirius looked up at one of his oldest friends as he swallowed down the large lump that had quickly formed in his throat.

"Thank you."

* * *

Harry was sitting at his desk reading when he heard a knock on his bedroom door. When Sirius hadn't come up immediately after his outburst Harry had contemplated going back downstairs but he didn't want to push his luck.

He didn't answer the knock, nor did he turn around when he heard his bedroom door open.

"Reading are we?"

Harry nodded once keeping his nose in his book.

"Can you stop for a moment and look at me?"

Slowly Harry pushed his chair back away from his desk and turned his body to the side. Sirius was sitting on the edge of Harry's bed and Harry prayed he wasn't going to call him over and wallop him for what had happened.

"Remus will be coming over shortly and though I know you aren't happy about that I expect you to behave for him and to keep the attitude at bay."

Harry nodded. He wanted to apologize for how he had acted but he couldn't bring the words out of his mouth. Remus was coming over Sirius didn't trust him enough to leave him alone.

"I left you alone up here for awhile because I needed to calm myself and I felt as though you did as well. You have got to learn to control your temper Harry. It is fine for you to be upset with me but it is not okay for you to yell at me or use the words you did."

Harry's eyes drifted down to his lap.

"I know you know better then that."

Harry stared at his fingers. Sirius was right, he did know better but it didn't change the fact that Sirius didn't trust him.

"Do you have anything to say?"

Harry shrugged not opening his mouth.

_Well this just isn't going to cut it_, Sirius thought. His godson could be mad all he wanted but he should at least apologize for how he had acted.

"If you don't realize that how you acted and what you said was wrong Harry then maybe I am wrong to think that you don't need punishing for this. Maybe a sore behind would help you control your temper next time."

Harry's head immediately snapped up. "No Sirius I **do** understand and I am sorry for how I acted and what I said."

Sirius fought the urge to smile…one comment was all it took.

"Do you now?"

Harry nodded quickly. "I **really** do and I **really** am sorry. I was just so angry that you don't trust me."

Sirius sighed as he ran a hand down his face. "I do trust you Harry, it's not that I don't. I shouldn't have left you home alone previous to the last time, I just shouldn't have and yes the last time is what made me realize that but I should have realized it sooner. This isn't about trust it's about your well being and if you want to be mad at me for making sure you are safe then you can go right ahead but I'm not going to stop doing it."

Harry nodded softly.

"I love you Pup, I can't help that and I realize now that it would be foolish to leave you home alone for more than an hour and I'm not going to."

Harry nodded once more, "I understand."

"Besides it's Remus! I'm sure you two will have a brilliant time I'm jealous that I can't stay home and join you! It's not as if I asked Snape to come watch you."

Harry chuckled at this. He knew Sirius was teasing and that he'd never in a million years have Snape come watch him.

"So cheer up," Sirius continued, "And in the future control that temper of yours."

Harry nodded. "I will, I really will Sirius. I'm sorry."

"I know you are and it's okay," Sirius smiled, "Now how about we go play a game of chess before Remus gets here?"

**TBC...**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: I had a pretty quite weekend so I decided to get this chapter up. I may or may not have time to get another one up in the next few days, but it shouldn't take me too long. LOTS of Remus in this chapter for all you Moony lovers. As always thank you SO much for all the kind words and encouragment. Feedback is always appreciated.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Harry looked up from his dinner to see Remus taking a bite of his chicken. Sirius had been gone for quite awhile now and Harry had to admit, having Remus stay with him hadn't been all that bad. The two of them had played several games of Exploding Snap and Harry was honestly enjoying his company.

However, he was also starting to wonder about his godfather. Sirius had told him that he was going to meet with Dumbeldore and that he'd be gone awhile but this was turning into a long while. He didn't think Sirius was at an Order meeting because if he was wouldn't Remus be there too? But he wasn't sure. Maybe Remus had decided to sit this meeting out just to baby sit Harry. He had thought about just asking Remus but he wasn't sure that would work. In Harry's opinion, Remus was pretty cool but he wasn't sure he was cool enough to just give up information or to even tell him the truth. However he could nonchalantly throw out a few hints and see if Remus took the bait. He was debating doing just that when Remus looked up from his plate to see Harry staring at him.

"Everything alright?" He asked. "You're hardly eating."

"Is Sirius really meeting with Dumbeldore right now?" So much for being nonchalant about it.

"Isn't that where he said he was going? Where else would he be?"

Harry shrugged as he moved some peas around his plate with his fork. "I don't know, I just thought maybe he's at one of those Order meetings and didn't want to tell me."

Remus raised an eyebrow at the young boy. "As far as I know he is meeting with Dumbeldore at Hogwarts tonight."

Harry nodded once shoving a forkful of peas into his mouth.

"And I was under the impression that your godfather made it pretty clear to you that those meetings are absolutely none of your concern."

Harry felt his face blush. Sirius wouldn't have told Remus about his punishment would he? Merlin, he hoped not.

"I know they aren't," Harry spoke, "I was just worried, he's been gone awhile."

"Yes while Dumbeldore had a habit of talking quite a bit at times."

Harry nodded as he ate another mouthful of his dinner.

"Sirius said he would be a few hours and he hasn't been gone that long, I'm sure he'll be home soon," Remus smiled, "There's no need to worry about him."

Harry returned the smile as he ate some more.

"Are you ready to be returning to Hogwarts?" Remus asked. "I have to say that I, myself am looking forward to the school year."

"Yeah it should be fun," Harry replied, "I guess I'm ready to go back."

"I've wanted to teach at Hogwarts for some time," Remus continued, "I'm glad the position of Defense teacher opened."

"Snape is going to be mad he didn't get it, the greasy git."

"_Professor_ Snape Harry. And Snape isn't as bad as many think."

Harry rolled his eyes. "He hates me."

"Severus does not hate you, trust me."

"He does!" Harry insisted. "You should see the way he treats me! He acts like everything I do is just horrible!"

Remus chuckled, "Severus is a hard teacher but hard does not equal hate. Speaking of which, have you finished your summer homework?"

Harry nodded proudly.

"All of it?"

Another nod.

Remus smiled to himself. He had to admit that once again Sirius had impressed him. He hadn't expected Harry's homework to be done and he knew Harry didn't do it on his own. Sirius was really getting this parenting thing down and Remus couldn't have been prouder of him or happier for him.

"Are you going to be a hard teacher?" Harry asked. He couldn't help asking. He was curious. And after all it would help to know what to expect.

"I don't like to think of myself as anywhere near as hard as Severus can be," Remus replied, "However I do expect hard work and excellent behavior in my classroom. I also expect students to stay out of major trouble with at Hogwarts. I don't think there is any excuse for students that go looking for trouble."

Harry felt himself blush once more. Although Remus hadn't come right out and said it he knew that Remus was referring to him. The things that had happened last year, the several major run ins with trouble, were no secret and if Dumbeldore hadn't told Remus Harry was sure that Sirius had. Harry had to admit that although having Remus as a teacher was going to be wicked it was also a bit disconcerting. After all, it was practically like having Sirius there. Harry was sure that if he was late for class or if Snape gave him detention that Remus would be telling Sirius all about it or worse flooing Harry home so he could tell his godfather himself.

"Didn't you get into trouble when you went to school?" Harry couldn't help asking. After all, he already knew the answer.

"Of course I did. Your father, godfather, and I got into plenty of trouble. However, more often than not we were held accountable and punished for it."

Harry sighed as he ate his last forkful of his dinner.

"Don't look so glum Harry," Remus chuckled, "I promise you I am not going to be at Hogwarts primarily as Sirius' spy. I know you are a good kid and I know we are going to have a fine year with no trouble at all. Just think of me as you would any other professor there."

Harry thought about this for a moment before answering. "But you aren't any other professor there, you're more than that."

"In a good way I hope," Remus smiled warmly.

Harry nodded in agreement. Yes, his statement did mean good things, it meant wonderful things like the fact that having Remus there was going to be almost like having an Uncle there and that with Remus there, Sirius was sure to visit loads. It also meant that Harry would really have to watch just how much mischief he got himself into.

* * *

It was late when Sirius finally arrived home to find Remus and Harry sitting at the kitchen table laughing about an old story Remus was telling.

"How was the meeting?" Harry asked once his laughter subsided.

"The meeting went very well. Dumbeldore is convinced that you are perfectly stable and happy living here with me and it doesn't look like we're going to have to have any more meetings for awhile."

"Of course I am happy and stable," Harry smiled, "It's been brilliant living with you!"

"Thank you Pup," Sirius smiled before turning to Remus, "And how was everything tonight?"

"Perfectly fine," Remus smiled, "We had a splendid evening."

"Good," Sirius returned the smile. "I'm surprised you're still up Pup, it's late."

"It's not that late," Harry replied though he had no idea what time it actually was.

"He was just keeping me company," Remus said.

"It's almost midnight and I believe your bed is calling your name Harry."

Harry stifled a yawn as he opened his mouth to argue but decided better of it. "I am tired," he finally replied as he stood up.

"I'll be up to tuck you in shortly."

"Alright. Goodnight Remus."

"Goodnight Harry."

* * *

Sirius waited until he heard Harry's bedroom door close before he took a seat across from his friend and spoke.

"So was he really good tonight? I know he wasn't happy about having a babysitter but I can't have him being disrespectful or unruly I just can't."

"He was fine Padfoot," Remus chuckled, "A perfect angle. And how was the meeting? Did everything go alright?"

Sirius nodded. "Everything went fine but I think I'm going to save the news for his birthday. I'm sorry I was so late, Dumbeldore just likes to talk, you know that. We spent the first thirty minutes discussing Harry's living arrangements and the next few hours discussing the Order and Harry's safety."

"Have there been any new changes in Harry's safety?"

Sirius shook his head. "It's the same as it has been. This house is to stay protected as long as he is here and Hogwarts will have just as many protections as ever, if not more. Dumbeldore is really convinced that Voldermort is up to something, that he is on the move or recruiting new followers. Harry is going to be under strict orders this year at Hogwarts to follow the rules. His safety is a top concern."

"Naturally," Remus nodded, "Is Harry going to be made aware of the new importance of following the rules."

"I don't want to frighten him," Sirius sighed, "but I do feel that he has a right to know the truth. He and I are going to have to have a talk about his safety. About not wandering the school in the middle of the night, about not looking for trouble, about staying out of forbidden areas."

"You look worried Padfoot," Remus noted, "I know Harry can be a bit of a handful and I know he is strong willed but I am sure that if you express your concern to him that he'll follow the rules."

"I'm not worried that he won't, he knows better, he knows the consequences…I'm more concerned with how he is going to take this news. He is only a child Moony; he shouldn't have to worry about all these things. He should be able to get into some mischief without that mischief putting his life into danger. It isn't fair to him and I wish there was something I could do to change it."

"You're right, it isn't fair to him but life isn't always fair and Harry is a strong boy, he can handle it. It may not be fair that he has to but he can do it. You'll see that after you speak with him."

* * *

Harry awoke early to the sound of someone in his room. He opened his eyes to find his godfather standing over him, a smile on his face.

"Sirius?" He could hear the confusion in his own voice.

"Happy Birthday Pup!" Sirius spoke the words with such enthusiasm that even if he wanted to, Harry couldn't have kept the large smile from plastering his face.

It was his twelfth birthday and for the first time he was having a birthday party. Ron and Hermione would be arriving just after breakfast to stay for the day and then for dinner Remus, Dumbeldore, and Hagrid would be joining them. Sirius had offered a trip to muggle London and even to have several of his friends from school come for the day but Harry had declined the offer. All he really wanted or needed was the people who were coming they were the ones that meant the most to him.

"Why don't you get out of bed and get dressed, I have breakfast cooking and I want to give you my present before anyone gets here."

"A present?"

"Of course! It's your birthday Harry you get presents on your birthday!"

Harry quickly got out of bed as Sirius headed back downstairs. He dressed as quickly as he could before racing down the stairs himself and running into the kitchen. His sneakers practically skidded when he stopped he had been moving so quickly.

The table was set with a breakfast feast and Harry couldn't help but smile as he thought about all the work Sirius must have gone through to set it all up. And there on his plate, was a wrapped box as well as an envelope on top of it.

Sirius was already sitting at the table, dishing some eggs onto his plate. "Well go on, have a seat and open them."

Harry smiled as he slid into his chair. Carefully he picked up the envelope slowly opening it. He had seen his cousin open birthday presents and he always ripped through each one tearing the wrapping paper off and then after seeing what was inside he would discard it and go after the next present. Harry could remember watching this countless times and thinking to himself that if he ever received a birthday present he would take his time opening it and really savoring what was inside.

The envelope opened and he pulled out a piece of parchment, after unfolding it carefully, he began to read. He tried hard to concentrate on what the words said but really it was just a lot of big words that he didn't understand.

Slowly he looked up at his godfather raising an eyebrow as he did.

"I know you probably don't understand most of what that says but Dumbeldore gave it to me last night. I'm sure you understand my signature at the bottom as well as those of your Aunt and Uncles. They are adoption papers Harry, as of last night you are officially my child."

"But I thought I had been?"

"Well yes you have been living here and I have been your guardian but this is different, being your guardian simply meant I was watching you and caring for you which of course I will still be doing but adopting you means that you are legally mine. It means that according to the law, you are my son in a way. Now of course, this will change nothing really, I don't expect you to start calling me dad or any of that it just means that we are officially a family and that I'm never going anywhere."

Harry couldn't help the large smile that spread across his face. "A family?"

Sirius returned the smile if possible he may have smiled even wider. "A family Pup, you and me…forever."

Harry looked at the paper once more before folding it back up nicely and gently placing it back into the envelope. "Thanks Sirius."

He didn't miss the tears rimming his godfather's eyes as he gestured at the box still sitting on Harry's plate. "Open that one!"

Harry chuckled as he picked up the box which was surprisingly light. So light in fact that it felt as if there was nothing inside. After carefully tearing away the paper he opened the lid to find a small dirty, square mirror.

Again he looked up at his godfather for some kind of explanation.

"That is a two-way mirror," Sirius explained, "I've got the other one of the pair. If you need to speak to me, just say my name into it; you'll appear in my mirror and I'll be able to talk in yours. Your dad and I used to use them when we were in separate detentions."

"Wicked," Harry smiled, "So when I'm at school I can talk to you?"

"You can," Sirius confirmed, "I thought it might be nice for you to have in case you needed to talk."

"It's brilliant, thanks Sirius!"

Sirius smiled widely. "Alright now, let's eat then. Ron and Hermione will be here shortly and you can't spend the day running around with your friends without a good breakfast in your stomach."

* * *

And run around they did. Much to Hermione's dismay the trio spent the early afternoon riding brooms around the backyard. Ron had suggested Quidditch but Hermione had looked nearly sick at the idea so Harry had decided that they would just ride for fun. After they grew tired of that they retreated inside for a late lunch and then spent the afternoon in Harry's room talking and catching up. Harry and Ron filled Hermione in on their adventure to the Black residence and Hermione made her disapproval no secret. Though Harry could tell that she was just as curious about the meetings as they had been and something told him that had she been around, she would have went right along with the plan no questions asked.

The two also filled Hermione in on the news of Remus becoming the new Defense teacher and Hermione's excitement topped both of theirs as Harry guessed it would. In his opinion, Hermione was simply mental when it came to teachers and school work.

The sun was setting when Sirius called them downstairs for dinner and they walked into the kitchen to find the other guests had arrived. Harry received several presents, including a box of pranks from Ron and the twins that caused Sirius to give a short lecture on when and where he could use them and Dumbeldore and Remus to dissolve into laughter and stories about just how many pranks Sirius had pulled in his day.

It was late when the guests finally left and Harry was alone with his godfather. He was full from cake and ice cream and happiness. He wanted to get up off the couch and go to bed but he couldn't move. Everything was just too perfect where he was.

Sirius ruffled his godson's hair before pulling a blanket off the back of his armchair and covering him up.

"Just sleep here tonight Pup."

"Thanks for my party Sirius," Harry yawned before giving up his fight and allowing his eyes to close.

Sirius smiled as he leaned down and kissed his godsons forehead. He couldn't remember ever being a happier man.

**TBC...**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Once again thank you for all the feedback, I really appreciate it. I had a lot of extra time this morning and so I decided to finish this chapter and post it. I'll warn you, there isn't much action in this one but the next one will more than make up for it. Also this chapter is a bit on the short side but again the next one will more than make up for it.**

**As always feel free to tell me if you love it or hate it or whatever.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Harry stood in his bedroom surrounded by bags. He and Sirius had just returned from Diagon Alley and had purchased everything Harry would need for school and more. And now Harry was supposed to be unpacking the bags as well as packing for school but he wasn't doing either, instead he was starring in disgust at the house elf that was once again standing on his bed.

"What horrible things?" He finally asked hoping to call the little creature out on his words.

"Dobby cannot say Sir, Dobby can only say that Harry Potter cannot return to Hogwarts."

"Do you see all this stuff?" Harry asked gesturing around his room. "I am going back to Hogwarts and soon!"

Dobby simply shook his head sadly before there was a pop and he vanished.

Harry immediately spewed out a long list of words he'd never want his godfather to hear him say as he cursed Malfoy under his breath before he opened his trunk and began putting his new school books in it.

"Harry could you come down here please!"

He wanted to yell back that he was busy doing what Sirius had asked him to do but something in his godfather's voice told him he should go downstairs.

"Sirius?" He called from the bottom of the steps.

"I'm in the kitchen."

Harry rounded the corner to the kitchen stopping when he saw his godfather staring at a plate on the counter.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

Sirius turned and looked at his godson staring for several long seconds before he answered. "I just found it hidden behind your broom it's a piece of china from my parent's house."

"How did it get behind my broom?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing it wasn't there last week when you took it out to go flying."

Harry's mind immediately realized what Sirius was trying to say. He thought that Harry had put it there! He thought he had taken it from his parent's house!

"I don't know how it got there!" Harry practically yelled.

"Well it didn't floo over here on its own and I certainly didn't bring it here," Sirius replied in a calm voice.

"Neither did I!" Harry replied if possible his voice grew even louder. "And neither did Ron!"

"Do not raise your voice at me," Sirius reprimanded him, "I'm not accusing you Harry I am simply asking you a question, if you know how it got here just tell me."

"I am not lying! I didn't bring that plate here Sirius! Why would I take a plate? That's so dumb!"

"I don't know why you would do it all I know is that the plate is here and it wasn't last week and there is only the two of us in this house."

"I didn't bring it here," Harry yelled.

"Lower you voice!" Sirius replied trying his hardest to keep his temper in check. He didn't want to believe that Harry would have taken anything from his parent's house nor did he want to think that Harry had gone back there after the first time but plates didn't just appear out of thin air. On the other hand his godson did have a point, why would he take a plate? It didn't make any sense. However, this conversation was quickly becoming less about the plate and more about Harry's attitude.

"No!" Harry continued to yell. "I'm not going to lower my voice when you aren't even being fair! I said I didn't effing do it!"

"Harry James!" Sirius yelled. He hadn't wanted to yell at his godson after reprimanding him for doing just that but he wasn't sure what else to do.

"Oh sod off!" Harry replied too angry to realize the words that were coming out of his mouth, or rather, who they were directed to. "Just because some stupid effing plate is here doesn't mean that I-"

But Sirius had had it. All his deep breathing and all the slow counting in his head vanished as he grabbed his godson by the arm and delivered a smack to his bottom that was so hard that Harry couldn't help but cry out.

"You do not speak to me that way," Sirius lectured as he reached out and grabbed a chair from the kitchen table. Harry's eyes widened and Sirius was sure his godson thought he was going over his knee, in all honesty Sirius couldn't blame him for that either, Harry probably did deserve much more than he was about to get but Sirius knew his temper was far too out of control at the moment. Quickly Sirius placed the chair so that it was facing the corner and without giving the situation another thought he sat Harry down in it.

He watched as his godson winced as his bottom made contact with the chair and immediately regretted doling out such a hard smack. His first instinct was to apologize for it but he knew better than that.

Harry attempted to stand up but Sirius simply put his hands on the boy's shoulders and kept him in place. "You are going to sit here until I come back and in that time I want you to think about how disrespectful you just were."

Harry's mouth dropped open. He was being made to sit in the corner?!

"I don't want to hear a single peep out of you, I just want you to sit and think and calm your temper. Understood?"

Harry nodded, his head down unable to look his godfather in the eye.

Sirius walked into the living room sure that Harry wouldn't move an inch. He had seen the look on his godson's face and knew he had gotten through to him but now what? He wanted to have Harry sit for awhile and then speak to him about his language and his temper but hadn't they had that discussion several times this summer?

Sirius sighed as he approached the fireplace. He could go ask Remus for his opinion but he knew what Remus would say. Remus would refer directly back to the Potters and what Mr. Potter would have done and Sirius knew that answer. If James had ever in a million years spoken to his father the way Harry had just spoken to him he would be sleeping on his stomach that night. However, Sirius wasn't sure that he was prepared to dole out a spanking today. After all, the smack he had just doled out had been harder than any he had in the past and he wasn't sure he or his godson could handle more.

There was always the old spell of filling the boy's mouth with disgusting soap but having been on the receiving end of that in the past Sirius wasn't sure he could hand out such a punishment to his godson, it would almost be easier to put him over his knee.

He glanced at the clock that hung above the fireplace. Harry had only been sitting for five minutes so far and Sirius was sure he would need longer then that.

Sirius flopped down into his armchair as he replayed the conversation that had just taken place in his head. He hadn't accused his godson had he? He had simply asked him if he knew where the plate had come from. He hadn't automatically put the blame on Harry yet Harry was so defensive. If Sirius didn't know his godson as well as he did he would mistake his defensiveness for guilt but Sirius knew better than that. If Harry had taken the plate he would have confessed. After all hadn't he confessed for going to his parent's house in the first place when there was little to no chance of him being caught?

He glanced up at the clock once more, eleven minutes. _Four more should do it_, he thought. Though he still had no idea what his game plan was after he allowed his godson to stop facing the corner.

It was times like this that he really wished that James and Lily were still alive. It was never his desire to play this role in Harry's life. Of course he loved Harry, he had loved him from the moment he first saw him but his plan had been to be the fun loving godfather. To be the one Harry came to when he did things he didn't want his parents to know about or when he was too scared to go to his parents. He never wanted to be the one lecturing and punishing nor did he want to be the one to make up the rules and enforce the consequences. He did love and want Harry though and he knew that with one came the other. He couldn't be his parent figure and his best friend all the time. Sometimes he would have to be just the parent and right now was one of those times.

Glancing up at the clock one last time, Sirius slowly got up and headed back into the kitchen. Harry was sitting right where he left him, staring at the wall, completely quiet.

Sirius reached over onto the counter and grabbed his wand and with a flick of it the chair turned around to reveal a young boy sitting quietly in it, staring at his hands.

Sirius picked up the other chair from the kitchen table and set it in front of his godson before sitting down.

He cleared his throat before he opened his mouth and he picked his words carefully. "I want you to know that I wasn't accusing you of anything Harry. I was simply asking you a question. If you would have answered me calmly and nicely and told me that you didn't know where it came from you wouldn't have found yourself sitting in a chair with a sore bum but you know that don't you."

Harry nodded silently unable to look up at his godfather.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry." The words came out in a whisper.

"I know you are but you have got to learn to control that temper of yours. I am not the enemy Harry and I would never accuse you of anything and especially not taking something that doesn't belong to you."

"I know." He croaked the words and it was obvious to Sirius that although he couldn't see his godson's face it probably had more than one tear on it.

Sirius wanted to pick him up and hug him. He wanted to forget that any of this happened and invite him to play a game of chess. He wanted to spoil him rotten and make everything that happened in the past twenty minutes seem like a huge joke. He wanted to, but he knew he couldn't.

"I appreciate your apologizing and I know you are sorry but we've had this conversation several times this summer and I can't help but start to think that maybe just having a conversation isn't going to cut it."

Sirius watched as what he could see of his godson's face turned a dark pink. He knew what his godson was expecting and he knew his godson deserved it, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Your firebolt is on the ground until you go back to Hogwarts," Sirius spoke the words without even realizing he was about to. Up until that moment it had never occurred to him to take away his godson's broom as a punishment and he was thankful for his quick thinking under pressure.

Harry's shoulder's if possible slumped drastically more than they already were.

"I'm sorry Harry but you've really left me no choice here. You have got to understand that it's not okay to speak to me or any adult in that way."

"I know," Harry whispered, "I'm sorry. I was just so angry."

"And it's okay to get angry with me. I am not perfect and I'm sure at times I anger you but that isn't an excuse to lose your temper and scream at me or to use that language. You have got to learn that losing your temper will only get you into trouble and you have got to realize that actions good and bad have consequences."

Harry nodded quietly.

"Look at me please Harry."

Slowly he brought his head up and forced his eyes to meet his godfathers.

"I need you to understand this Pup," Sirius spoke in a gentle voice, "It is so important that you learn to control your temper and to follow the rules. I wish I didn't have to explain to you everything I am about to but I feel that you have every right to know."

"Know what?"

Sirius took a deep breath before speaking once more. "Dumbeldore believes that Voldermort is on the move. That he is planning something or recruiting followers and as a result of that it is more important than ever that you are safe. I know that when you listened in on the meeting you heard that there are several people that are going to be watching you at Hogwarts but I need you to do your part too and a big part of that is following the rules. Now I can understand getting a detention for talking in class or playing harmless pranks on people and that is all good fun and just fine by me but you cannot put yourself in danger."

"Sirius I know."

"No Harry you don't. I'm not simply talking about diving into the lake or standing on your broom. I don't want to hear of you doing anything dangerous. I don't want to hear of you wandering the castle in the middle of the night or sneaking off to Hagrid's when you shouldn't and I don't want to hear of you going into the forest or anything else that could make you vulnerable. I realize that it's not fair to you but you have to understand how important this is. I am not going to be the least bit happy if I hear of you doing any of these things do you understand?"

Harry nodded. "Yes."

"And I realize it probably seems like all of this has very little to do with what happened tonight but it doesn't Pup. Every teacher at Hogwarts is going to be doing everything in their power to keep you safe and you need to show them nothing but respect, including Snape. Understood?"

Harry nodded once more. He had never seen his godfather act more serious and to be honest it scared him just a little bit. A little voice in the back of his head told him to tell Sirius about Dobby but he couldn't. After everything that had just happened there was no way he could tell his godfather that a house elf had visited him three times and that he hadn't said anything about it until now. No, that was not even an option.

"I love you too much to lose you to something as stupid as a trip into the forbidden forest. I can't let it happen and I won't let it happen." Sirius ran a hand down his face. "I hate having to punish you Pup but if that's what it's going to take to keep you from getting hurt or worse then I'm going to go it."

Harry nodded. He could understand that. He wasn't going to give Sirius any reason to punish him while he was at Hogwarts though. He wasn't going to do anything to put his life in danger and he certainly wasn't going to do something as stupid as wandering off into the forbidden forest.

Sirius sighed as he reached over and pulled Harry off the chair and embraced him in a hug.

"Just promise me you aren't going to do anything foolish."

"I promise," Harry replied hugging his godfather back. "I won't do anything foolish."

* * *

Late that night Harry lied awake as he thought about everything Sirius had said to him. Maybe he and Ron had been wrong. Maybe he really wasn't safe going back to Hogwarts. Harry decided then and there that if Dobby visited him even once more he would immediately tell Sirius. He wouldn't tell him about the previous visits of course but he would tell him about Dobby and what he was saying. But then how would a house elf know anything anyway? If Harry was really in danger wouldn't it be more likely that Dumbeldore would know especially if he was in danger at Hogwarts.

Harry sighed as he rolled over onto his side. Sirius was right about one thing, he did have to learn to control his temper. He couldn't explain why he was so moody lately. He would have never in a million years said those things to Uncle Vernon and he hated him so why did he say them to Sirius whom he loved? But then maybe that was it, maybe it was easier to be mean to people you loved…to people that you know loved you because you know that they'll forgive you.

One thing was for certain, Harry wasn't going to get into any trouble this year at school. There was no way he was going to be called into Remuses office so his godfather could floo in to lecture him…or worse. No, that wasn't an option at all. He was going to stay out of trouble and if he absolutely had to do something that was considered dangerous he was just going to have to be extra, extra careful not to get caught.

**TBC...**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: As always thanks for all the reviews, adds, etc. I know I said this chapter would have some excitment in it but well I decided to put the excitment off for one more chapter. However the next chapter will be up soon...sometimes this weekend, possibly even in the next few hours.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It was late in the afternoon. The following morning the Weasley's would be arriving bright and early to pick up both Harry and Sirius and accompany them to the train station. Harry's trunk was packed and ready to go but unlike last year Harry wasn't so anxious to head to Hogwarts. Several times throughout the day he had toyed with the idea of telling Sirius all about Dobby and his warnings. He was still pretty convinced that it had to be Malfoy playing a stupid prank but he also thought that maybe, just maybe it wasn't and if it wasn't then maybe his godfather would decide that he couldn't go back to Hogwarts and maybe Harry would just get to stay home with him.

But when he really thought about it, he would miss the castle too much to stay at home. Besides he couldn't tell Sirius about Dobby, not when he had been keeping the information from him for so long and if it was just Malfoy playing a prank, which Harry was sure it was, he didn't want to upset his godfather for no reason.

No, he would just be brave and do the right thing and go back to school.

"You alright Pup?"

Sirius glanced up from his paper to find his godson lying on the couch. A magazine was open in front of him but he hadn't so much as glanced at it in the past few moments. The boy was definitely lost in his own world.

Harry nodded absentmindedly.

"You sure about that? You seem to be a million miles away."

Sirius smiled softly as he spoke the words remembering how James sometimes drifted off in the same way.

"I can't believe the summer is over."

"I was just thinking the same thing," Sirius replied folding his newspaper and setting it down, "you must be excited, I was always excited about another year at Hogwarts."

Harry shrugged silently causing his godfather to raise an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Alright what's wrong Pup?"

"I just…I'm going to miss you is all." Harry spoke the words in the bravest voice he could muster. He certainly wasn't going to become all emotional over this that was for girls and little kids, not twelve year olds.

Sirius smiled softly, "I'm going to miss you too. I'll visit often though, so often that you may get sick of me I warn you."

"I won't," Harry replied as he laughed under his breath, "I'd never get sick of you."

"I'll remind you of that when I'm showing up every weekend and demanding all your attention."

Harry laughed once more. "Remus will get jealous…so will Ron."

"I suppose they will," Sirius laughed, "we'll have to allow them to spend time with us as well."

"Yeah," Harry laughed, "Hey Sirius?"

"Hmmm?"

"You know the pranks I got for my birthday can I take them to school with me?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow and attempted to look stern before he broke out into a laugh. "Against my better judgment, yes you can. However, you are not to use them on teachers or while in class. Remember the talk we had about respecting your teachers this year, even the ones you dislike."

Harry nodded seriously, "I remember and I will, I promise, even Snape."

Sirius nodded sternly but Harry could see the amusement dancing in his eyes and although he knew his godfather was being quite serious in his rules he also knew that Sirius would probably be a little lax as far as Snape was concerned. After all if he treated Harry anything like he had last year, showing the man complete and total respect would be hard.

"And please, please remember to keep yourself out of danger, I can't tell you how important it is Pup. With everyone doing everything they can to keep you safe, you really need to abide by the rules as far as your safety is concerned."

Harry nodded just as seriously as he had several moments earlier. "I told you, I won't do anything foolish."

"Good," Sirius smiled, "Now enough of this rubbish, what are we going to do on your last night home?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm kind of just happy hanging out and talking."

Sirius smiled as he felt a warm sensation rush through his chest. Here was a child that could have easily just asked for anything in the world on his final night at home, a child that knew he could have whatever he asked for and all he wanted was to hang out and talk. Sirius Black was one truly blessed man.

"Did I ever tell you about the time your dad and I snuck off to Hogsmeade in our second year and stayed out all day and didn't even get caught?"

Harry shook his head as an enormous smile spread across his face. There was nothing he loved more than to hear old stories of how his dad and godfather got into mischief.

"We found a secret passage down by the dungeons, which I am sure is closed up by now. Actually Remus found it, though he'd never admit to that," Sirius chuckled.

"Remus found a secret passage?" Harry couldn't help but keep the shocked tone out of his voice. Of course he knew that Remus had gotten into plenty of trouble with his friends but Harry couldn't help but picture young Remus just as he was now…as the responsible one.

"Don't let Remus fool you, he wasn't always such an old duddy."

Harry burst out laughing at this remark.

"He did find the passage, by accident of course, but he did find it. He was supposed to go into Hogsmeade with us but he wound up with detention instead so it ended up being-"

"He got detention? What for?"

"For purposely blowing up a caldron in potions though don't tell him I ever told you he did such things," Sirius chuckled, "Anyways it was just your father and I that went. We snuck out early, right after breakfast and stayed out all day. We missed classes…come to think of it I'm not sure how we were never caught. Sometimes we just got lucky I suppose."

"What did you do in Hogsmeade all day?"

"We basically just hung around. We had your father's cloak and that always came in handy to play pranks on people," Sirius smiled fondly at the memories.

"You and my dad ditched class to go play pranks on people all day? You'd kill me if I did something like that!" Harry tried to force a sour look onto his face but he couldn't quite accomplish it. The words he had just spoken were true but he couldn't bring himself to feel hurt over them either.

"Kill you? I'd never kill you Pup. Grounding you to Gryffindor tower seems like a much more likely option and much less violent as well."

Harry rolled his eyes playfully. "I didn't really mean you'd kill me Sirius. Besides if Ron and I wanted to sneak out we could do it without getting caught, we have the cloak and the map."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "You could…however, doing so would be putting yourself in danger and I promise you that if you do so you will not like the outcome at all."

Once again Harry rolled his eyes playfully. "I didn't say we would do it, just that we could. I told you I'll be good, really."

"I know you will Pup," Sirius smiled softly, "I'm not at all implying that you won't or that you would purposely put yourself in danger." Sirius stood up and stretched his arms above his head before speaking again. "I'm going to go get our dinner together, care to help?"

Harry nodded as he stood up and followed his godfather into the kitchen. He leaned onto the counter as he watched Sirius take a pot out from a cabinet and begin to make soup.

"How'd you learn to cook?"

Sirius smiled as he cut up some carrots and threw them into the pot. "Your mum actually taught your dad and I, when they first married I spent a lot of time over there and she said she refused to be our maid all the time so she taught us how to cook and sometimes we would cook dinner for her."

Harry smiled at this. He was used to hearing millions of stories about his dad from Sirius but it was rare that he heard ones about his mum and he often wondered about her.

"What was she like? I mean am I like her at all…aside from my eyes?"

"You are very much like her," Sirius replied in a soft voice, "You have her heart, every time you do something for someone else you prove it more and more."

"Really?"

"Really Pup, your dad was an amazing person don't get me wrong and he had a good heart as well but your heart is pure Lily."

Harry smiled as he reached into a cabinet and retrieved the dishes to set the table.

"I can cook too you know."

"Can you?" Sirius asked as he stirred the soup.

Harry nodded as he set the table. "Yeah I used to have to cook all the time for my Aunt and Uncle, it was one of my chores but I didn't mind because I like cooking and because they left me alone while I did it."

Sirius cringed as he felt his heart break once more for his godson. He would have liked nothing more then to rip Vernon and Petunia Dursley limb from limb or at least cast a few good curses on them. Hearing the words his godson just spoke made Sirius want to keep him from ever doing another chore again, but he knew that wasn't the answer. He had grown up in a pampered home where he was never made to do anything, and it had been no good for him, and he surely wasn't going to have that for his godson. However at that exact moment, it wasn't really necessary.

"You don't have to help me with supper you know Pup, you can go do whatever, and I will call you when it's ready."

Harry smiled at his godfather. "I know I don't **have** to help Sirius, I want to help. If I didn't want to I would tell you, you know that."

Sirius nodded as he retrieved the bowls from the table and served the soup into them before placing them back in their spots. "I know it! And you had better tell me whenever you are unhappy, you can tell me anything at all, you know that right?"

Harry nodded as he took his seat at the table. "I know."

"And I want you to feel free to talk to me anytime you like while you're at school Pup, you have the mirror and Remus will allow you to use his floo anytime you like."

Harry nodded as he ate a mouthful of his soup. He really didn't want to talk about going back to Hogwarts. He really didn't want to discuss how they were going to keep in touch. He really just wanted to pretend like he wasn't leaving at all because he knew if he didn't he would end up looking like a huge baby and that was not an option.

"I know," Harry replied before changing the subject, "Did you know that the car we are taking tomorrow can fly? Ron told me all about it when I was at his house."

"I did hear something about that."

"I guess Mrs. Weasley doesn't like it though, Ron said she goes mental when Mr. Weasley flies it."

"Well Pup it probably isn't the besst idea to fly a muggle car all over London. I think we'll be driving tomorrow."

Harry frowned down at his soup. He had been hoping they would fly to the station but he guessed that would probably just upset Mrs. Weasley and Harry hated when she was upset. Fortunately he didn't encounter her upset often but he had in the past and she was pretty intimidating when she got going.

"Don't look so down, once you're back at Hogwarts you'll get more than your full of magic I am sure."

"I never get more than my full," Harry admitted, "I love magic."

Sirius smiled warmly as he finished his supper and then got up to put the tea on.

"How come you don't do everything by magic?" Harry asked as he watched his godfather fill the teapot with water.

Sirius shrugged as he grabbed two mugs from the cupboard. "I grew up in a house where magic was used for everything Pup, my mother wouldn't life a finger to do anything she could do with her wand and while it can be fascinating it's also a bit lazy. It's nice to know how to do things both ways and sometimes it's nice to do things without magic."

"Yeah but you've hardly used magic at all this summer."

"I haven't really felt the need to, besides you are here and you can't do any magic at all away from school."

"So?" Harry questioned.

"So I haven't wanted to make you miss it or want to do it I suppose…silly huh?"

Harry shook his head smiling. "Not silly at all…thanks Sirius."

Sirius smiled a goofy smile before placing a teabag in each of their mugs. "We should probably get to bed early tonight the Weasley's will be getting here pretty early tomorrow morning."

Harry nodded in agreement although he didn't really agree. He really wanted to stay up late and hang out with his godfather as much as he possibly could before he had to leave him but he didn't say so. Sirius would probably insist on an early bedtime anyway.

* * *

Harry tossed and turned for a long time that night. He couldn't quite explain what he was feeling. It was silly to worry about missing his godfather so much and he knew it. After all hadn't Sirius said he would visit often and didn't he have the mirror as well as the permission to floo home as much as he liked? It wasn't that big of a deal and Harry knew this, however, he couldn't stop the ache in both his heart and his stomach.

He wondered briefly if this was how Ron was feeling at this very moment but he decided he probably wasn't. After all, Ron had had his parents his whole life.

Harry rolled onto his side and starred out the window at the full moon that was shining down on the yard. Christmas holidays weren't that far away and then he'd be home and before he knew it summer holidays would roll around again. And he loved being at Hogwarts, he did. Still it wouldn't be the same knowing that there was another place he called home now. He would miss just sitting around with Sirius and their after supper tea as well as their morning breakfasts together.

For a moment he even thought he would miss the tone of disapproval he got when his godfather disagreed with something he had done.

Harry smiled to himself as he closed his eyes, _"now I've gone completely mental."_

**TBC...**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: I'm in a fabulous mood today so here's the next chapter. A little more excitment in this one, along with some Remus for all you Remus lovers. Expect the next chapter maybe Sunday late afternoon or on Monday. Enjoy! And opinions are always more than welcome!**

* * *

Kings Cross Station was especially busy that morning and Harry was surprised that he didn't recognize a single face. He and Ron were walking quickly, pushing their trolleys along with them, as they followed the rest of their group.

The Weasley's had arrived to pick Harry and Sirius up early and much to Harry's dismay his godfather had been correct and they hadn't flown the car but rather driven it. However, it was amazing that they all fit in one car and for Harry that was plenty of magic to satisfy him.

He looked up as he walked and spotted Sirius walking with Mr. Weasley, the two of them were deep in conversation. The twins were close behind them, followed by Percy, and Mrs. Weasley who was holding Ginny's hand. Harry couldn't help but notice how sad and alone Ginny looked. He thought back on the previous year when she had seemed simply crushed that she wasn't going off to Hogwarts as well. And now she still looked crushed.

Harry glanced over at Ron who looked lost in his own world.

"Is Ginny okay?" Harry asked as he eyed up the youngest Weasley once more.

"Ginny? She's fine…mental most of the time…but fine. Why?"

"She looks upset," Harry replied.

"She's probably just nervous, first time off to Hogwarts and all."

Harry shrugged. Ron was probably right. After all Ginny was just a tiny little girl. She was probably scared about being away from her parents for the first time.

"Plus she is probably nervous she won't end up in Gryffindor or something, she probably thinks she'll be a Slytherin even though I told her every Weasley always ends up in Gryffindor," Ron continued, "She's just a worrier."

Harry kept his thoughts to himself but he could totally relate to what Ginny was feeling. He had never told anyone, not even Sirius, how close he had come to ending up in Slytherin and he never planned on it. And Ron was wrong, every Black had been in Slytherin until Sirius came along…but Harry didn't share that information either.

"So I was talking to Fred and he reckons we really need to get Malfoy good, show him who the boss is and all that."

Harry nodded. He agreed with Ron they did need to get Malfoy good but doing so and not getting in trouble for it was going to be tricky.

"We should ask Hermione to help," Harry finally replied, "She always has good ideas."

Ron nodded in agreement, "Yeah and she hardly ever gets caught."

Harry smiled to himself.

The boys approached the rest of their group which had stopped in front of the entrance to the platform. Harry watched as Mrs. Weasley went through with Ginny and then as Percy and the twins followed.

"Harry! Ron!"

Turning around Harry came face to face with Hermione and immediately embraced her in a hug. He hadn't seen her since his birthday and it wasn't until that moment that he realized how much he missed her.

The young witch quickly introduced her parents to Sirius and Mr. Weasley before turning back to the boys.

"Aren't you just so excited to get back to Hogwarts? I hope I have all the classes I want."

Ron rolled his eyes as Harry humored her with a nod. He was used to how mental Hermione went over school but it could still be overwhelming at times.

"We're going to head on through," Sirius said, "You three don't take too long, the train will be leaving in a few moments."

Harry nodded as his godfather, Mr. Weasley, and Hermione's parents went through the barrier.

"I should probably head through too," Hermione noted, "I want to get a good seat, I'll save seats for you two as well."

And with that she was gone.

"We should probably go too," Harry said as he gripped the trolley holding his trunk once more.

After a quick glance around, he and Ron took several steps back before heading towards the barrier but instead of going through it they simply walked right into it.

"What the…"

"Let's try again," Harry replied, "Maybe we should run."

Ron nodded as the two backed up once more and this time ran only to be met by the same reaction. This time, however, they found themselves on the floor with their trunks next to them.

"Did it seal itself up?" Harry asked.

"I've never heard of it doing that!"

"You two," a loud voice thundered, "What the devil are you doing? This isn't a playground! Get your things and move on!"

Harry looked up at the uniformed man and quickly got back onto his feet and righted his trolley and trunk.

Once Ron was up as well the two of them quickly walked away from the barrier.

"What do we do now?" Harry asked as he glanced up at a large clock on the wall. The train was going to be leaving any moment.

He knew Sirius wouldn't come looking for him. The two of them had said their goodbyes before they had left the house. It had been Sirius' idea. That way nothing would get embarrassing at the station and Harry could board the train without a care in the world.

"The car!" Ron exclaimed as he began walking faster.

"Ron you're a genius!"

They could just go wait by the car, eventually the Weasley's and Sirius would come back and then they could just explain what happened and everything would be fine.

"All we have to do is find the train," Ron replied as the two of them stepped out of the station and into the sunlight.

"Huh?"

"We fly the car, find the train, and follow it to Hogwarts."

"Ron! NO!"

Ron stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to look at his best mate. "What do you mean no? What else can we do?"

"We can wait at the car until your parents and Sirius come back."

"They aren't coming back," Ron replied, "They'll floo or port key home, dad'll just call the car home by magic and if the car is at Hogwarts he can still do that."

"We can't fly the car!"

"Sure we can" Ron smiled, "I told you I know how."

"No…no we can't."

"What else can we do? We can't be late, we'll be in load of trouble then and no one is gonna believe what happened, I've never heard of the barrier sealing itself off."

Harry sighed as the two of them approached the car.

"Just trust me," Ron continued, "We follow the train and then park the car somewhere by the forest and just go into school like we just got off the train with everyone else, it'll be fine."

Against his better judgment Harry nodded as he opened the backseat and hoisted his trunk in. He looked up to find Ron sporting a toothy grin as he also threw his trunk into the backseat.

The two got into the car and Harry held his breath as he watched Ron turn a few knobs and then before Harry realized what happened, they were in the air.

"Now we just have to find the train," Ron smiled.

Harry thought about pointing out that the train had left several minutes ago but Ron looked so happy that he didn't want to be pessimistic.

"There it is!" The red head proclaimed several minutes later.

Harry looked down out of his window to see the Hogwarts Express and immediately a huge smile spread across his face.

"Ron! You really found it!"

"Course I did, I told you I would," Ron replied in a matter of fact tone in a way that caused Harry to burst out laughing.

Maybe this was all going to be okay. Maybe Ron's plan would actually work.

After several moments in the air, Harry found himself relaxing. It was actually quite peaceful to be soaring high above the train in a car. A little like flying on a broom but without all the work.

"So how about Snape saying he is on your side?" Ron said out of the blue.

Harry shrugged in reply. "I guess he kinda is, I mean Dumbeldore trusts him."

"You'd never know it the way he treats you," Ron continued, "You should sabotage one of his classes or something, that'll teach him."

Harry forced a chuckle and nod but there was no way he was going to do that. He remembered what Sirius had said about respecting his teachers and he wasn't going to forget it, even with Snape.

* * *

It was several hours later and Harry was beginning to grow stiff from sitting for so long, when Ron exclaimed that he could see the castle. Looking up quickly Harry smiled as he too saw it in the distance. Harry also looked down and quickly noted that the train was moving slower.

"Now we just need to land and park near the forest," Ron smiled.

"But not in the forest."

"No, not in…just near."

The car began to descend slowly and then suddenly much faster.

"Ron slow down."

"I'm not doing it!" Ron all but shouted, "I think it's running out of gas."

The car fell out of the sky and crashed among the trees of the forbidden forest before driving forward at full speed and hitting a willow tree. The doors opened and ejected both the boys and the trunks before the car speed off in reverse and went back into the forest.

"Dad is gonna kill me," Ron whined in a sad voice.

Harry opened his mouth to reply but was swept up by a branch of the tree instead. He heard Ron scream and could only assume that he too had just been attacked by the tree. Several seconds passed as Harry flew through the air before the branch deposited him, none too softly, onto the ground. Seconds later Ron landed by his side.

"What the hell!" Ron exclaimed as Harry quickly retrieved his glasses from the ground next to him and replaced them on his face.

"Mr. Weasley you have already broken several school rules and classes haven't even begun, would you care to add language to your list."

Harry knew that voice and upon hearing it his blood immediately ran cold.

"Get up! The both of you!"

Quickly Harry and Ron jumped to their feet to find Severus Snape towering over them.

"How dare the two of you fly a bewitched car! How dare you think you are so far above the rules that you may do whatever you please! Never in all my years of teaching have I witnessed such blatant disrespect for the rules! If I had it my way you would both be on the train back home tonight! If things were still done the old way around here you would be picking a switch from the tree you just damaged as well!"

Harry gulped; he could practically feel Ron shaking beside him.

"The two of you will follow me to the headmaster's office at once!"

"Professor please," Harry said in just above a whisper, "The platform wouldn't open for us and…"

"Save your ridiculous excuses for the headmaster Potter!" Snape all but yelled the words as he grabbed both Harry and Ron by their arms and drug them towards the castle.

"It's not an excuse, its true!" Ron yelped.

Snape snorted before hissing the password to the gargoyle. He drug the two of them up the stairs, stopping in front of the door.

"You may enter."

The door opened and Harry, if possible, grew even whiter as he saw Dumbeldore sitting behind his desk and Remus standing in the room as well.

"Harry James Potter!" Remus thundered the moment Harry stepped into the room.

Dumbeldore held up a hand and Remus nodded though he didn't look any less angry.

"Boys," Dumbeldore said in a soft voice, "Can you please explain to me what happened."

Harry opened his mouth to speak but miraculously Ron beat him too it.

"We tried to go through to the platform Sir but the barrier wouldn't open. We knew we missed the train and we didn't want to be late so we decided to take the car."

"And at no time did you think to return to your house or Harry's and wait for someone or to return there and floo to Hogwarts?"

Harry felt his stomach flip as he shook his head. They hadn't thought of doing those things. There had been a million options they hadn't thought of.

"Do the two of you have anything to say for yourselves?" Dumbeldore did not sound angry, he sounded sad. And if possible Harry decided that was worse than angry.

"I'm sorry," the boys mumbled in unison.

"As am I," Dumbeldore replied sadly, "Are you aware that you were seen?"

Harry shook his head as Ron did the same.

Slowly Dumbeldore opened his top desk drawer and removed a newspaper sliding it across his desk so that the boys could see it.

"Several muggles saw you," he continued, "and as a result memory charms had to be made."

"I'm sorry," Harry replied once more though this time Ron remained quiet.

"Under normal circumstances what the two of you did would call for expulsion."

Harry felt the blood drain from his face.

"However, other arrangements have been made."

Slowly Harry felt some small relief. They weren't going to be expelled however, he was sure the other arrangements weren't going to be good either.

"Mr. Weasley you will follow Professor Snape down to an unused classroom, your mother will be here momentarily and she wishes to speak with you."

Harry watched his best mate go completely white before turning and following Snape out of the office.

"You'll be coming with me Harry," Remus said in a cold voice.

Against his better judgment Harry glanced at Remus. What he found there was a man he had grown to love looking absolutely livid.

"I really am sorry Professor," Harry said once more before turning.

Dumbeldore nodded, "I know Harry."

* * *

"I am well aware that your godfather had several conversations with you about breaking the rules and about keeping yourself out of danger young man and I am appalled at what you have done tonight."

Harry followed Remus to his office as he listened to the lecture.

"It really wouldn't open, I swear it! Really Remus you have to believe me, I promise it wouldn't open!"

"Whether or not it would open is not the problem here. You had several other options that you should have entertained before flying a car clear across muggle London in broad daylight Harry James!"

Harry flinched at the use of his full name as Remus opened his office door.

"Sit!" he commanded as he pointed to a couch.

Harry sat immediately. He wanted to speak, to plead his case, but he wasn't sure he could do so without yelling and he refused to lose his temper.

Remus paced in front of him for several seconds before speaking again.

"Do you have any idea the gravity of what you have done tonight? No one knows where Voldermort is and no one knows if the death eaters are working or not. You could have been killed Harry! Your parents gave their lives for you and putting yourself in danger to have a joyride in a flying car is a pretty piss poor way to repay them!"

Harry felt his face go red at the words. He wanted to yell, to argue, but he couldn't, he wouldn't. Remus was right.

"Now your godfather is on his way and I expect you to keep that temper of yours in check and to give him the up most respect. He has been worried sick about you ever since we realized you weren't on the train."

Harry nodded. He wanted to point out that he would respect Sirius, of course he would respect Sirius but again he kept his mouth shut.

"If you ever, **ever** pull a stunt like this again **I** will tan your hide right in Dumbeldore's office, am I understood?"

"Yes Sir," Harry whispered as his face grew several shades of red.

And with that Remus was gone.

Harry sighed loudly to himself. He was done for and he knew it. Sirius would probably believe him about the platform sealing itself but as Remus and Dumbeldore had said, that was really no excuse. No all he could do now was throw himself at his godfather's mercy and pray that Sirius didn't ground him to Gryffindor tower for the rest of the year.

And then the door opened once more. Standing there looking angrier and more worried then Harry had ever seen him was Sirius Black.

**TBC...**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: As promised here is the next chapter. Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorite story adds, etc. Just a warning...there is a spanking in this chapter...though if you've been reading the story I'm sure you saw that coming so if that's not your cup of tea you've been warned.**

**I'm playing around with several options for the next chapter so it will probably take me a few days to get that one up.**

**Enjoy! And as always feedback is more than welcome.**

* * *

Sirius Black entered the castle through the floo in Dumbeldore's office. He knew Harry wasn't there, he knew he was with Remus but he also knew he needed to talk with Dumbeldore first and he knew he needed to calm his temper before he got anywhere near his godson.

"Good evening Sirius," Dumbeldore greeted him from behind his desk, "Please have a seat. Would you like a lemon drop?"

Sirius shook his head as he took a seat. "What happened?"

"The boys claim that the barrier sealed itself off and they could not get through to the platform," Dumbeldore answered the question in a calm voice.

"Is that possible?"

"I've never heard of such a thing happening but I suppose anything is possible."

Sirius sighed as he ran a hand through his long hair.

"I know we discussed you doing so but did you explain to Harry the seriousness of his keeping himself out of danger?"

Sirius nodded. "Several times."

"He apologized more than once," Dumbeldore continued, 'He won't be receiving a punishment from me, Minerva may decide to punish the boys, which is her right considering they are in her house. She is aware of the situation, however, took the option of waiting until tomorrow to address it, she's so very busy with first years tonight."

Sirius nodded once more.

"Harry is with Remus at the moment though I am sure you are aware of that and I'm sure Remus has made him aware that you would be arriving."

"I suppose I should go deal with him then, I want to apologize for Harry as well, trust me he and I will be having a long talk tonight and he will be punished."

Dumbeldore nodded as he smiled kindly. "I have all the faith in the world in you Sirius you are doing an excellent job with Harry."

Sirius thought about pointing out that if he was doing such an excellent job he wouldn't be at Hogwarts having this discussion right now but he kept those thoughts to himself as he showed himself out of the office and down the spiral staircase.

As he expected Remus was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.

"Where is…"

"In my office", Remus interrupted, "I thought it best to let him be alone for a few moments."

Sirius nodded as the two old friends slowly made their way towards the defense classroom.

"I don't know what to do Remus," Sirius spoke the words softly, "I tried so hard to make sure he was aware of how careful he had to be and then he goes and does something like this…I just don't know what to do anymore."

Remus wanted to scream some sense into his best friend but he decided on a different route. "Harry is a good kid…a great kid…but unfortunately he has made a serious mistake. I believe he knows how badly of mistake he has made though, I believe he knows what to expect. I believe that if he were honest with himself he would even admit that he knew it was wrong before he even did it…unfortunately though, he still did it Padfoot and his actions still have to have consequences." He spoke softly and with great care. "And I know you know what needs to be done."

Sirius nodded softly as they turned the corner and headed down the long hallway that would lead him to his godson. "I don't like punishing him."

"Show me one good parent that enjoys punishing their child. No good parent likes it they do it because they love their child too much not too."

Sirius nodded. He knew Remus was right. He knew what had to be done.

He had to keep his temper in check. He was going to talk to Harry and listen to him and let him explain what had happened. He wasn't going to go in there yelling and he wasn't going to jump to conclusions. He was going to let his godson explain everything that happened and he was going to let him talk for as long as he needed to. When Harry was done talking he was going to explain to him exactly why what he did was so horrible and exactly how much danger his life had been in. He was going to go over the rules again, even though he felt as if he had gone over them a hundred times already, and he wasn't going to lose his patience while doing so. If Harry felt the need to talk some more after that, he would even let him do that as well. And then he was going to tan his godson's disobedient little bottom and ground him to the tower for at least a day or so.

"James and Lily would be honored to see the way you are taking care of Harry," Remus continued, "He respects and listens to you more than anyone and you know that and you need to make sure that what happened today never happens again."

Sirius nodded as the two approached the door to the defense room. "I know and I'm going too."

"I'll be in the staff room if you need anything at all."

"Thanks Remus."

* * *

Sirius stood outside the door of the office for several moments taking deep breaths. He was absolutely determined not to lose his temper. Honestly, he wanted nothing more than to walk into that room and immediately put his godson over his knee but he knew better than that. He knew that doing so would only result in an overly upset child and he knew that he couldn't punish Harry out of anger. After all, that was what his own father used to do and all that resulted in was Sirius hating him.

After lecturing himself about exactly how he wanted to handle the situation at hand, after several more deep breaths, and after a round or two of counting to ten in his head, Sirius opened the office door to find Harry sitting on the couch.

There were no tears and Sirius was thankful for it. If he would have walked into the room to find his godson already a blubbering mess he wouldn't have been able to be as hard with him as he knew he had to be.

Harry's eyes slowly wandered up to meet Sirius' and then quickly darted away. Sirius was used to this by now, he knew his godson couldn't look him in the face when he was truly ashamed of what he had done or when he was aware of how much trouble he was in and Sirius was hoping that this time it was a mixture of both.

Without saying a word Sirius went behind the desk and retrieved the wooden straight back chair, carrying it across the room he plopped it down in front of his godson and deposited himself into it.

"Alright," he said in the calmest voice he could muster, "start explaining and I want the absolute truth."

Harry looked down at his lap completely unable to bring himself to look at his godfather and praying Sirius wouldn't request that he do so.

"After you and Mr. Wesley went through the barrier, Hermione did as well and then Ron and I tried to but it wouldn't let us, so we tried again, running this time and it still wouldn't let us. We fell and some bloke that worked at the station must have seen us because he came over and yelled at us to stop playing so we got our stuff and walked away."

He paused for a moment and bravely raised his head just slightly to steal a glance at his godfather. He didn't want to but he had to know if he believed him and he knew that if he just looked at his face he would know.

Quickly he lowered his head once again Sirius still looked livid however he did look as though he believed what Harry had just said.

"Continue."

"So then Ron suggested the car and I thought he meant to just go wait by it for you or the Weasley's and then he told me you weren't taking the car home…that you were using magic to get the car home and that Mr. Weasley could still do that if the car was at Hogwarts." Harry paused once more, choosing his words carefully as he continued. They were already both in trouble there was no reason to get Ron into more of it. "So then we decided to fly the car and just follow the train here. We didn't want to be late and we didn't know what else to do. So we flew the car but then when we got here it ran out of gas so it crashed into the forbidden forest and then into the willow tree and then Snape found us. But Sirius you **have **to believe that we couldn't get through to the platform you just **have **to! I wouldn't lie about that, I promise! Please believe me, please!" The last words came out in a desperate whine and Harry prayed that his whining voice wouldn't irate his angry godfather even more.

"I believe you," Sirius nodded, "I believe you if you say that is what happened. But Harry there were several other options that you could have…that you should have done before you took the car. You could have went back to Ron's or to our house and used the floo to get to Hogwarts or waited for someone to come back to help you. And you have the mirror, you could have talked to me at any time and explained what had happened and you know I would have been there within seconds, ready to help."

Harry nodded. "I know, we just didn't think of any of those things."

"Exactly you didn't think at all! Are you aware that you were seen? Do you know how much trouble people had to go through to do memory charms on those muggles? Do you know that you should be expelled for this? Are you aware that Mr. Weasley could get into a lot of trouble with his job for what you two did? And do you even realize what a dangerous situation you put yourself in? No one knew where you were and anything could have happened! Do you know how worried Remus was when he realized you weren't on the train or how worried I was when I was made aware that you weren't on the train? Did you think about any of these things?"

Sirius forced himself to stop his lecture as he felt his anger growing once more. Losing his temper wouldn't help anything and it certainly wouldn't set a good example for the twelve year old that he was constantly reminding about his own temper.

Harry continued to look down at his lap. He hadn't thought of any of those things and he wasn't sure if his godfather wanted answers. He had messed up hugely and all he really wanted was for the floor to swallow him up whole.

"Did you think of any of those things young man?"

Sirius' voice was thundering.

Harry shook his head softly as he swallowed the huge lump forming in his throat. He heard his godfather sigh loudly.

"We talked about this several times Harry James. I told you and I told you how important it is for you to keep yourself out of danger didn't I?"

"Yes Sir," Harry all but whispered the words.

Sirius paused for a moment at the use of the word Sir. **No one** had ever called him Sir and especially not his godson. It was enough to make him want to stop this whole charade. To tell Harry that if anyone asked he was properly punished but to really just let the whole thing go. However, that was not an option.

"I don't know how else to explain it to you. Voldermort has tried to kill you twice now and he will not give up. Now as you know no one has any idea of his where abouts and maybe you think it is stupid to use caution but it isn't Harry and with all the people that are looking out for you it is extra important that you don't make their job harder than it already is."

Harry nodded. "I know."

Sirius sighed loudly as he ran a hand down his face. He hoped his godson knew because he didn't know how else to explain it to him. As far as Sirius was concerned he had been as clear as he could be about the situation several times already, yet here they were.

"And I'm aware that it isn't fair that you have to deal with all of this at a time in your life when you shouldn't have such great worries but this is the hand you were dealt and until Voldermort is defeated and taken care of no one can change it."

"I know," Harry said once more.

"Do you have anything else to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered, "We didn't think and we didn't mean to be seen."

Sirius sighed. He was dreading what was coming next, absolutely dreading it.

"Come here," the words left his mouth though he couldn't remember actually speaking them.

Slowly Harry stood up and took the two steps between him and his godfather. He didn't put up a fight when Sirius gently grabbed his wrist and guided him over his lap. He had known this was coming. There was no way it wouldn't have been. Sirius may have let him get off with a warning over stupid little stuff like his attitude or may have just given him one swat over his temper but there was no way that after what he did today he wasn't getting walloped and he knew it. He didn't like it…but he knew it.

Sirius looked down at the jean clad bottom that presented itself over his knee. He didn't want to do what he was about to do but he knew that he needed to do something to express the seriousness of Harry's crime and the only other option he could think of was to bare the boys bottom and he didn't want to cause him that kind of embarrassment. So carefully he reached over to Remus' desk and picked up a book transfiguring it into a wooden hairbrush before setting it back down on the desk.

He could feel Harry's rapid breathing and he didn't want to make the boy wait any longer so raising his hand high he brought a smack down hard on the upturned bottom in front of him.

Harry immediately called out though Sirius guessed it was due more to the surprise of the smack rather than the pain of it. He knew he hadn't hit the boy that hard.

He raised his hand once more and brought it down just a little bit harder. And then, although it felt strange to him, he began to lecture.

"I hope you realize Harry James that there were several other options that you could have done that wouldn't have resulted in you receiving this spanking."

Harry didn't answer as his godfather's hand continued to fall but Sirius really didn't expect him to. Sirius knew from experience that being in the position his godson was in the last thing you wanted to do was talk.

"I warned you that you wouldn't like the outcome and I want to make myself perfectly clear that if anything like this happens again I will be right back here and we will be reliving this very moment."

Sirius' felt his heart break a little as he heard the sobs begin to come from his godson just after the fifth smack fell. He simply hated himself for hearing his tears, knowing he caused them, and knowing he wasn't going to stop what was causing them.

On the fifteenth smack Harry began to plead.

"I'm sorry," he cried breaking Sirius' heart completely in the process, "Please Sirius I'm sorry."

Sirius forced himself to block out the words as he raised his right knee higher and picked up the hairbrush.

Without stopping for even a moment to think and most likely talk himself out of it Sirius raised the brush and brought it down hard on the lower part of Harry's behind.

The moment it made contact Harry's body arched as he attempted to turn and see what had caused such a pain but Sirius simply tightened his grip around the boy forcing him to stay where he was as he quickly delivered four more spanks with the hairbrush, each one just a little harder than the last, before dropping it back onto the desk.

He began rubbing circles on his godson's back as Harry continued to sob deeply. Sirius himself had to blink back the tears several times.

He let Harry cry over his knee for a long time before he righted the boy so that he was sitting on his lap. The moment the two were facing each other Harry's head dropped down.

"Uh-uh", Sirius said softly as he placed a finger under Harry's chin and forced his head up, "look at me please."

Harry obeyed.

"I absolutely hated doing that to you and I want you to know that but you have to realize how serious what you did was Pup. You have to. I am not…I cannot lose you over something as foolish as what you did today. Do you understand me?"

Harry nodded the tears still falling from his eyes. He had messed up so bad, worse than he ever had with Sirius before and he prayed that his godfather was going to forgive him.

"And if you ever, ever do something that foolish again that spanking you just got will look like a few love pats, do you understand?"

Once more Harry nodded, unable to speak and Sirius hoped he would never have to make good on the words he just spoke.

Sirius stared at his godson for a moment, his face covered with tears before he sighed softly. "Come here," he spoke the words as he pulled Harry close to his chest and wrapped his arms around him.

"I'm sorry," Harry sobbed, "I am sorry, you have to forgive me."

"Of course I forgive you Pup, you made a mistake, everyone makes mistakes. However, when you make those mistakes it's up to me to correct them and make sure that you realize what the mistakes were so you don't make them again."

Harry nodded into his godfather's chest as he continued to sob.

"Are you still mad?"

"No," Sirius replied as he rubbed the boys back, "I'm not mad. You are grounded to your tower tomorrow though. I don't want to hear of you leaving it aside from classes and meals got it?"

Harry nodded once more. He got it and he deserved it and so even though he was dreading spending a whole day in the tower, he wasn't going to argue about it or give Sirius any attitude about it.

"And I know you already did but I want you to apologize to Dumbeldore again…and to Remus and Snape as well. They were all very worried about you."

Harry nodded before mumbling, "I will…I'm sorry I made you worry Sirius."

"It's alright, just please don't do it again."

"I won't, I promise," Harry replied as he slowly pushed himself out of the hug so that he was just sitting on Sirius' lap. "I really am sorry."

"I know you are Pup," Sirius nodded smiling a small smile so that his godson would believe him and stop apologizing. "Did you eat anything today?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm not really hungry."

"Now you know I'm not going to allow you not to eat," Sirius smiled, "I'm going to make sure some supper is sent here to Remus' office. Do you want to spend the night here? You can if you like."

Harry shook his head softly. As much as he didn't want to face Ron and Hermione he knew he would have to eventually, besides he was sure Ron would be in his bed tonight and not in someone's office.

"Alright then you can go back to your dormitory. I'll have some food sent up and send Remus in so you can talk with him…would you like me to stay for that?"

Harry shook his head once more. He did want Sirius to stay as he wasn't looking forward to facing a livid Remus Lupin again anytime soon but he knew that he had made several major mistakes today and that it was his responsibility to apologize to the people he had caused worry and so he would do it without his godfather there.

"Don't look so terrified Pup," Sirius chuckled softly, "Remus will forgive you, he isn't nearly as scary as he can act at times."

"He said if I ever do anything like this again he'd tan me right in Dumbeldore's office," Harry admitted.

"Did he?" Sirius asked forcing a stern look onto his face. "Well then I would suggest you don't do anything like this again, I'd hate to punish you right after Remus already has."

Harry couldn't help the instant redness that overtook his face. He hadn't really expected a different reaction from his godfather but it still took him by surprise.

"He'll forgive you…trust me. Now I am going to get going…do you need anything else."

Harry shook his head as he slid of his godfather's lap. "You're still coming to see me this weekend right?"

"I am," Sirius smiled, "I'll be here Saturday morning as I promised."

"Okay," Harry nodded as Sirius ruffled his hair.

"I'll have your supper sent up…and don't forget about tomorrow."

"I won't," Harry promised.

"I love you Pup."

"I love you too."

**TBC...**


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: Once again thank you for all the reviews, favorite story add's, etc. Enjoy this chapter and I'll try and get the next one up within a few days.**

**Mira**

* * *

Harry stood alone in the middle of the office for several long moments after Sirius left before food suddenly appeared at a small round table.

He smiled to himself as he walked over. Now that he could see and smell food he realized he really was starving and his was thankful that his godfather knew him well enough to know that he needed to eat.

He sat down on the hard wooden chair and immediately winced as his sore behind made contact with the wood. Positioning himself the best he could to feel the least pain he helped himself to a piece of chicken.

He was sure that Remus and Sirius were talking somewhere he just hoped that when Remus walked in he wouldn't be as angry as he had been before.

It was all still such a new feeling for Harry, to have people who truly cared if he put himself in danger, people that truly worried. It was so different from the life he used to have, if the Dursleys knew about today they certainly wouldn't be angry at Harry for putting himself in danger, they would most likely only be angry that he didn't get hurt or worse. And now he was dealing with the complete opposite, people who got so worried they got angry.

Harry had just helped himself to another glass of pumpkin juice when the office door opened and Remus walked in. Immediately he set his glass down but Remus simply held up a hand.

"Finish eating, we can speak when you are done."

Fifteen minutes went by as Harry ate his supper as well as a large helping of dessert. While he ate he occasionally stole glances at Remus who was sitting at his desk studying a book.

Finally when he was sure he couldn't eat or stall any longer he pushed his plate away and the table miraculously cleared itself.

Harry glanced up at Remus once more to find him still deep in thought with his book and after chewing his bottom lip for a moment or two he cleared his throat loudly.

"Finished with your supper?" Remus asked not looking up.

"Yes Sir," Harry replied. He had never really called Remus Sir in the past but after tonight it seemed like the right thing to do.

Harry watched as Remus closed the book and set it to the side and then stood up and joined Harry at the round table.

"Sirius said you wished to speak to me."

Harry nodded softly. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to try to explain, but he didn't know where to start so instead he said the first thing that came to his mind. "I'm sorry I put myself in danger and I'm sorry I made you worry."

Remus smiled slightly. It was obvious that the boy had been punished, if not from his tear stained face then from the way he was squirming in his seat or most obviously from the hairbrush which Sirius clearly forgot to transfigure back that sat on his desk.

When Remus didn't instantly respond Harry spoke once more. "Please don't be mad at me anymore."

"I'm not mad at you Harry," Remus finally replied, "I'm not sure I ever was really mad at you, I was more overcome with worry for your safety. You have no idea the feeling that consumed me when I realized you weren't on the train."

"I'm sorry," Harry said one more, "I didn't mean to make you worry."

"I know you didn't intentionally do so but you did and I've never been more afraid in my life, my first thought was that something horrible had happened to both you and Ron and when I contacted Sirius and he too had no idea where you were that worry multiplied in seconds."

"I know and I'm sorry."

"We all make mistakes and we all do foolish things, and you are forgiven," Remus smiled, "Just please don't put me through such a scare again."

"I won't, I promise."

"I know Sirius offered and I know you declined but you are more than welcome to spend the night here if you'd rather not go to the tower."

Harry was tempted to say he would but he really just wanted his own bed and he wanted to talk with Ron and he knew he had to face Hermione sooner or later so he shook his head. "Thanks but I'm okay."

Remus nodded. "If you change your mind the offer stands and if you ever need to get away the offer is always there."

Harry nodded, "Thanks…and I am sorry."

"I know you are, stop apologizing," Remus chuckled, "I have forgiven you."

"Sirius says I have to apologize to Sna…Professor Snape," Harry quickly corrected his error.

"Sirius is right Severus was very worried as well though I'm sure he wouldn't admit it. And I would suggest you do so tonight considering you have class with him first thing in the morning."

Harry groaned to himself. He was hoping he could put off apologizing to Snape until the morning but it didn't seem as though that was going to work.

"I guess I should huh?"

Remus nodded. "Yes you should. Would you like me to come with you?"

In all honesty Harry wouldn't like that, he would love it. He wasn't exactly scared of Snape but he wasn't looking forward to going to apologize to him either. Snape could be intimidating and he was sure he wasn't going to accept his apology, if anything apologizing to him would probably just make Harry feel worse instead of better. But if Remus went with him it would make Harry look like a baby, like someone who couldn't handle his own problems and so Harry shook his head.

"No, I can do it alone," Harry replied as he glanced up at the clock, "I better go soon though, it's getting late."

Remus also stole a glance at the clock before nodding. "Yes you are probably right. But before you go Harry I want you to know that I truly do forgive you and that I am sorry if I scared you with my outbursts earlier, I didn't mean to yell at you in such a way I was just so very worried about you…I love you too much and to think that something happened to you…"

"It's okay," Harry interrupted him. He had stopped crying awhile ago but hearing Remus' words he felt as if he was going to start all over again. "Don't apologize, I deserved it…I love you too…and I won't make you worry again."

"I'd appreciate if you didn't," Remus smiled.

Harry returned the smile as he stood up and slowly walked towards the door. There was so much more he wanted to say. He wanted to make sure that Remus believed him about the barrier not opening. He wanted to explain that they never meant to be seen or to put themselves in danger but that it just seemed like the only option. He wanted to thank the man who had become like an uncle to him for not walloping him in Dumbeldore's office in front of everyone. But it was late and he was tired and his behind was still tingling and he still had to face Snape so instead he settled for just saying goodnight once more before walking out the door.

* * *

Harry shivered as he stood outside of Snape's office door. The dungeons were always cold and Harry felt it suited the man who resided down there. He had been standing outside the door for at least five minutes, if not more. In this time he Harry had been seriously contemplating just ignoring his godfather's request to apologize to the greasy git and heading up to bed instead. It was a tempting option but Harry knew he couldn't do that. He was pretty sure that if he did Sirius would find out that he never apologized and then he'd probably ground him to the tower for another day or worse he'd think Harry hadn't really learned his lesson and floo back. No, not apologizing to Snape wasn't an option.

So quickly, before he could chicken out, Harry raised his hand and knocked on the office door.

"Come in," the low voice replied as the door slowly opened on its own.

Harry walked in to find Snape sitting at his desk writing furiously on a piece of parchment.

"Professor Snape," Harry's voice practically squeaked out the words and he immediately scolded himself for sounding so pathetic.

"Potter," Snape replied not bothering to look up.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?"

"May you," Snape corrected, "And if you must I suppose you may."

"I just...I just wanted to say that I'm sorry...about tonight," Harry stumbled over the words.

Snape made no attempt to acknowledge the boy's apology or look up or even stop writing.

"I never meant to put myself in danger...the barrier really wouldn't open...we thought the car was the best option...I am sorry though Sir, I won't do it again." Once more Harry stumbled over words amazed at how hard he was finding it to form a complete sentence.

However, Snape still continued to write not once even giving the slightest hint that he had heard Harry or his apology.

Harry sighed softly to himself. "Okay well I'll stop bothering you...but I am sorry you know."

Harry turned and began to walk out the door when Severus dropped his quill and sighed loudly.

"Not so fast Potter."

Harry turned back around to find the man now staring directly at him. He remained silent as Severus stared into his eyes for several long seconds before he spoke again.

"I sincerely hope your godfather has made you extremely aware of just how foolish and ridiculous your actions were tonight."

Harry nodded as he felt his face flush slightly and he prayed Snape wouldn't notice or wouldn't realize what it meant.

"It is at Professor Dumbeldore's request that I keep an eye on you throughout this school year and I want you to know that I do not take his requests lightly. I will be keeping an eye on you and you had best not put so much as one toe out of line or I can promise you Potter the outcome will be most unpleasant."

Harry nodded once more unsure of what to say. Oh he wanted to say plenty. He wanted to tell the greasy git to mind his own business and that he didn't need him to keep an eye on him. He wanted to tell him that it was none of his business what the outcome would be for anything he did or didn't do. He wanted to tell him to go sod off. He wanted to use about a dozen other words that he would never want Sirius to know he even knew existed. And that's exactly what stopped him from doing any of that...Sirius. He had promised his godfather he would show all his teachers respect and he would and so a nod would have to suffice.

"I believe you are to be back in my classroom several hours from now so you had best get to bed Potter. I will not have you exhausted in my class on the first day back."

Harry nodded as he turned once more. He opened the door to exit and the paused for a moment. "I really am sorry Professor."

Snape watched as Harry walked out, the door closing behind him. Once he was sure the boy was gone he sighed loudly to himself as he ran a hand down his face. "And you are forgiven you foolish child."

* * *

"I wasn't at supper so I don't know the password," Harry argued, "But you know me, I was here all last year."

"Of course I know you Harry Potter," the fat lady replied in a cranky voice, "But if you don't know the password you don't get in. Now I am going back to sleep and I would appreciate if you didn't wake me up with your foolishness again."

"Where am I supposed to sleep?" Harry all but yelled.

"Just coming in from a late night stroll?" A familiar voice asked.

Harry turned to see George Weasley standing behind him.

"I don't know the password and she won't let me in."

"Forget the password," Fred said as he walked up the hallway and joined the other two boys, "Did you and Ron really fly the car here to Hogwarts?"

Harry nodded miserably. Of course the twins would know all about it.

"Mum was here," George noted, "Right angry she was, I haven't seen her that furious in a long time."

"I reckon dad was probably angrier, being it was his car, Ron is lucky he didn't come," Fred replied.

"I don't know, dad rarely gets as angry as mum but you might be right."

"Poor Ron."

"Poor Ron?" George asked in shock. "Even you and I know better then to do what he did, he is lucky mum came here and didn't have him sent home for good."

Fred nodded in agreement.

"Can one of you please just tell me the password?" Harry asked and both twins looked at him as if they forgot he was even there.

"It's Quidditch," George supplied. "And just where are you coming from? We heard Remus was furious with you."

Harry nodded as he said the password to the fat lady causing her to open the door and also scold him for waking her once more.

The three boys walked into the common room to find it completely deserted.

"Did you have a rough night as well?" Fred asked.

Harry nodded but said nothing as he began to climb the stairs to the boy's dormitory.

"At least Sirius won't be angry with you," George laughed as he turned into the bedroom for the upperclassmen, "He'll probably congratulate you for pulling suck a wicked prank."

Harry forced a smile in return. They had absolutely no idea and Harry figured there was no point in changing that.

He climbed the remaining few steps and opened the door to find Ron sitting on his bed, his eyes wide with fear.

"Where have you been?" He asked in a hushed voice. "You have been gone for ages! I was worried they expelled you!"

"Sirius came and then I had to apologize to Remus and Snape."

"Why did you apologize to Snape?" Ron asked in a shocked voice.

"Sirius said I had to, he said Snape was really worried about us."

"That greasy git was not worried! I can't believe you apologized to him!"

"I had to," Harry explained as he changed into his pajamas, "Trust me if you would have seen how angry Sirius was you would have done what he said to do too."

"Sirius was angry?" Ron's voice sounded overly shocked.

"Of course he was! We flew a car! We put ourselves in danger! Sirius was angrier then I've ever seen him."

"I'm sorry mate I just didn't expect he gets angry at you."

"Well he does and he was but it's okay now I think."

Ron nodded seriously as Harry lied down in his bed, careful not to put too much weight on his bottom.

"How mad was your mum?"

Ron blushed profusely until his face almost matched his hair.

"She was angry," Ron finally answered, "Real angry."

Harry nodded. Ron's face said it all there was no need to ask for specifics.

"I'm grounded to the tower tomorrow," Harry admitted to his friend.

"I'll stay here with you," Ron said with a smile. "I expected mum to ground me too but she didn't, guess she figured the slipper was enough."

The moment the words left Ron's mouth he blushed once more, he obviously hadn't meant to offer up that much information and Harry said nothing about it, figuring if he were in that situation he would want the same. A small part of him wondered if he should offer up some information about his own punishment and make it even but he couldn't bring himself to do so, so instead he changed the subject.

"We can play exploding snap or chess or something," Harry smiled, "Sirius didn't say I couldn't have fun in the tower, just that I had to stay in it except for classes and meals."

"Wicked," Ron smiled, "And the only classes we have tomorrow are Potions and Defense."

"We have Defense tomorrow?" Harry asked. Everything had been fine when he had left Remus but suddenly Harry was worried about seeing him again. As if Remus would lecture him in front of the whole class or make a comment about his punishment, or something equally embarrassing. He was sure Remus would never do that to him but still he was worried which suprised him because he was sure Snape would do that and curiously he wasn't worried at all about going to Potions class.

"Yeah," Ron replied, "After lunch."

"Cool," Harry forced out the word.

Several silent moments passed and Harry was sure Ron had fallen asleep and then the redhead spoke once more.

"Hey Harry?"

"Yeah?" Harry mumbled. He was tired and at the moment he was fighting to keep his eyes open and his brain alert enough to respond to Ron.

"I'm sorry I made you drive the car here with me…it was a stupid idea."

"You didn't make me, I could have said no and I didn't…it's not your fault Ron."

"I'm sorry anyways."

"It's okay," Harry yawned.

"Night Harry."

"Night."

**TBC...**


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: My life has been crazy so my apologies for taking so long to get this chapter up. This is a shorter one but only because I really didn't want to end it with a cliffhanger. Hopefully the next chapter will be done and up by the weekend. Enjoy!**

**And as always feedback is welcome.**

* * *

Harry sat down at breakfast the next morning next to Ron and across from Hermione, it was the first time he saw her since arriving at Hogwarts and he was ready to hear all her disapproving comments about how he and Ron had arrived but surprisingly the young witch said nothing. She barely even acknowledged his presence. She was eating and reading a large book intently.

"Morning Hermione," Harry said as he reached for a muffin.

"Morning," she mumbled as she turned the page, her eyes darting around it before settling in at the top.

"How can you already be doing reading?" Ron asked as he shoved a mouthful of eggs into his mouth, "Classes haven't even started yet."

She held up a hand wordlessly telling him to be quiet as she continued to read.

Ron rolled his eyes at Harry as he mouthed the word _mental _to him.

"I am not mental Ronald," Hermione snapped, "But unlike you I care a great deal about my marks and I am trying to read the first chapter of potions before we go to the class."

"Hey I care about my marks!" Ron replied, "Just not as much as you do!"

"Well maybe you should care about them as much as I do…you both should. It would be a better use of your time then flying a car around."

Harry sucked in his breath, he knew this was coming. If Hermione was involved in a scheme with them she was all for it but if she wasn't, she was usually totally against it.

"We didn't have a choice Hermione," Harry explained, "the barrier wouldn't open."

Hermione shrugged as she turned a page once more, "It's none of my business all I am saying is that you two are lucky you didn't get expelled."

The words were hardly out of her mouth when an older boy stopped next to Ron and Harry and handed them each a piece of parchment before continuing on his way.

Harry opened it slowly to find a note from Professor McGonagall instructing him to meet with her as soon as Potions was over.

He heard Ron sigh and he figured his note said the same.

"She is going to lay into us good," Ron muttered, "I heard she was livid with us last night."

"Did you expect she wouldn't be?" Hermione asked, "Everyone was worried about the two of you. Honestly how could you possibly get into so much trouble before classes have even begun? The two of you better be careful, you don't want to get expelled."

"We won't get expelled," Ron replied.

"We will be careful," Harry added.

"Well I certainly hope so because I can't imagine Hogwarts without the two of you."

* * *

Harry took his seat in Potions next to Ron. Snape wasn't there yet but that wasn't unusual it was like him to walk in just as the class was beginning.

Harry glanced over at Malfoy who was in his usual front seat next to Crabbe. The two boys locked eyes for a moment before Malfoy made a face and turned away, whispering something to Crabbe before he too looked at Harry and the two dissolved into laughter.

"Did you see that?" Ron asked in a hushed voice, "I told you he was pranking you, he probably just told Crabbe about it."

"What are you two talking about?" Hermione asked as she turned around in her seat.

"I'll explain later," Harry whispered.

"Mr. Potter talking already?" Snape's voice thundered as he walked down the aisle towards the front of the room. "I would hate to take points from Gryffindor in the first seconds of the new school year."

"Sorry Sir," Harry mumbled the words.

He wanted to argue that class hadn't been going on while he was talking and that other's had been talking as well but he didn't, he simply swallowed his comments.

"Take out your books and turn them to page fifty seven," Snape instructed, "On this page you will find the directions for brewing a memory potion, you will work in groups of three and you will complete this potion by the time class has finished. You may begin."

Without even a second of hesitation Hermione turned her seat around to join Harry and Ron.

"Alright start explaining," she said in a hushed voice as she began reading over the potions ingredients and instructions.

Harry quickly and quietly explained the situation with Dobby and Malfoy. Pausing once for a few moments as Hermione raced off to the supply cabinet and returned within seconds with everything they would need for the potion.

"Are you sure it was him? Are you sure you couldn't really be in danger?" She asked as she handed began mixing some of the ingredients. She handed a large type of bean to Ron, "cut that up into pieces as little as you can."

"No I'm not sure," Harry admitted as Hermione handed him a strange flower to de-petal, "But how could Hogwarts not be safe? Dumbeldore is here not to mention a dozen other teachers that are pretty powerful wizards and witches."

"True," Hermione nodded, "But I think before you do anything you need to find out."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Ron asked.

Hermione shrugged as she collected the pieces of the bean from Ron and the petals from Harry and added them to her mixture, "Dunno but we'll need a good plan."

* * *

"I guess it's now or never," Harry said as he raised a hand and knocked once on McGonagall's office door.

Ron's face was practically white with fear and Harry wondered if he should be feeling fearful as well, honestly he wasn't at all. He had already faced Sirius and Remus, not to mention Snape, McGonagall would be easy and then after Defense he would go and apologize to Dumbeldore once more.

"Come in."

Harry pushed her heavy office door open to find Professor McGonagall sitting behind her desk starring directly at him.

"You wanted to see us," Harry said softly.

"Indeed I did. Close the door behind you Mr. Weasley."

Once the door was firmly closed she cleared her throat loudly before speaking.

"What the two of you did yesterday was absolutely unacceptable. Never in all my years at Hogwarts have two of my students done something so foolish! Now I am well aware that you have both been punished for your transgressions however I am also taking fifty points from each of you and I expect an essay on my desk by Monday on why you will never do something like this again and the lessons you have learned from this. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

Ron nodded.

"Yes Ma'm," Harry replied.

"And if I hear of the two of you getting into any more trouble I will not hesitate to floo your parents…is that clear?"

Both boys nodded.

"Now you may go to lunch but be warned I am keeping a close eye on the two of you."

Harry knew he should have been embarrassed or upset by what McGonagall had just said and by the punishment they had received. After all Gryffindor probably hadn't even earned any points yet and already they had lost one hundred of them. However, he couldn't bring himself to feel anything but sheer joy. She had said she would floo their parents…she had referred to Sirius as Harry's parent. Of course, he had been for almost a year now but this was the first time someone had actually acknowledged him as such and the feeling overcame Harry. He had a parent.

* * *

Hermione wasn't at lunch. He and Ron walked into the Defense classroom to find her hunched over a book.

"Really Hermione," Ron said as he took a seat next to her, "We've only been to one class, you need to relax."

"I'll have you know that this has nothing to do with classes, I have a plan."

"Already?" Harry asked in an amazed voice.

She nodded, "I went to the library and did some research, I'll explain everything later."

Later didn't come until much later, hours later actually. After Defense class Harry made his way to Dumbeldore's office and apologized to the headmaster once more who responded by acting as if he had no idea what the boy was apologizing for and offering him a lemon drop instead. He and Ron then spent the remainder of the day in the Gryffindor common room while Hermione was in the library, they didn't see her at dinner either. It wasn't until they have returned to the tower after dinner that she finally made an appearance.

"You missed dinner to study?" Ron greeted her as she took a seat on the couch next to Harry, "You really are mental you know that don't you?"

Hermione ignored his remark completely as she glanced around the room to make sure no one was paying attention to them.

"Alright the way I see it the first thing we need to do is be absolutely sure that this is all a prank done by Malfoy and the only way we are going to find that out is if he tells us…"

"Blimey Hermione Malfoy isn't going to tell us that!"

"I know that Ronald which is why I've spent the entire day coming up with a plan," she looked around once more before continuing this time in a much lower voice, "We can brew Polyjuice Potion, it's complicated and it takes about a month to make but if we do it correctly we can transform ourselves into anyone we want, preferably three Slytherin and then we can talk to Malfoy about it."

"Wait there is a potion that will turn us into Slytherin?" Harry asked in amazement.

Hermione nodded, "When we drink it we'll transform into whoever we chose for a few hours, not long, but long enough to find out what we need to know."

"Wicked," Ron breathed.

"Where are we going to brew this potion?" Harry asked.

"I thought about that too…I mean it's technically against the rules to do this so we'll need a good place, I was thinking of the girl's lavatory in the second floor, no one ever goes in there."

"It sounds like the perfect plan," Ron smiled.

Harry nodded in agreement but honestly he wasn't quite so sure, the idea of getting caught loomed over his head but Hermione was right they did need to know if it was a prank or if Dobby was really trying to warn him that Hogwarts wasn't safe.

* * *

It was a little over a week later when the trio finally found significant time to escape to the girl's lavatory on the second floor.

"The potion is already brewing," Hermione explained as she looked around the corridor before pushing the door open, "We just need to check on it and make sure everything is…"

She trailed off as she raised an eyebrow at her two best friends who were standing in the hallway frozen in their spots.

"What is it?" She breathed certain that they had heard or seen something she hadn't.

"You can't expect us to actually go in there," Ron spoke.

"Don't be ridiculous! It's just a lavatory and no one ever comes in here! How else are we going to do this if you two won't cooperate?"

Harry sighed as he took a step forward she did have a point after all.

"Ron!" Hermione said his name in a demanding voice.

"Alright," he finally sighed, "But if any girls come in here…"

"They won't," Hermione promised, "Not with Myrtle in here."

"Who's Myrtle," Harry asked as they entered the large lavatory.

The words were barely out of his mouth when the ghost of a young girl flew up out of one of the stalls and stopped directly in front of his face. They were nose to nose and Harry could feel the coldness coming off of her.

"I'm Myrtle," the ghost smiled sweetly, "And you're Harry Potter aren't you?"

Harry nodded.

"Everyone knows who you are and I have to agree they were right you are very…cute."

Harry felt himself blush as he heard Ron snicker behind him.

"And who are you?" Myrtle asked not totally focused on the red head, "This is a girl's lavatory you know, no boys allowed."

"They're with me," Hermione spoke up, "We've just come to check on our project."

"Project?" Myrtle laughed. "You are brewing Polyjuice Potion and that isn't allowed, I know what you are doing!"

"What if she tells?" Harry hissed at Hermione.

"She won't," Hermione replied not bothering to keep her voice down, "She never leaves the bathroom and no one else ever comes in here."

Myrtle made an annoyed noise before she flew back up into the air and landed with a large splash that Harry could only assume came from a toilet.

Hermione shrugged as she led the boys to the last stall, "That's Moaning Myrtle," she explained, "She's the reason no one comes in here."

She pushed the stall open as Myrtle moaned loudly from her own stall.

There sitting in the middle of the stall was a large cauldron full of a potion that was thick and bubbling.

"It seems to be doing well," Hermione noted, "It looks like it's supposed to anyway."

"It's looks disgusting," Ron replied.

"It doesn't matter," Hermione answered, "As long as it works."

"How much longer until it's done?" Harry asked.

"At least two weeks, maybe three but I think just two."

Harry looked down at the potion that was bubbling viciously in the cauldron. It was lucky that he had such a smart best friend, one who came up with plans like this and who could actually brew what they needed to make it work. On the other hand, if they got caught he was as good as dead and he knew it. Silently he prayed that their plan would work perfectly, that they wouldn't get caught, and that Malfoy was behind the prank. And if it wasn't Malfoy who else could it be? Harry couldn't think of anyone else who would prank him like this and if Hogwarts truly wasn't safe he would have to tell Sirius about it all and he would have to admit that this had been going on for weeks and that he hadn't said a word and that wasn't an option he wanted to think about at all.

**TBC...**


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: I've really been in the writing mood the past couple of days so here's the next chapter. I also have the following chapter more than halfway done so expect it in the next day or so. **

**Enjoy! And as always feedback is welcome!**

* * *

Harry stood in front of Remus' office door preparing to knock. He knew it was silly to be feeling as nervous as he did. After all, aside from the Polyjuice potion they were brewing he hadn't so much as put a toe out of line. He had been on time for all his classes, done all his assignments, he had even managed to make it through the first three weeks of classes without getting a single detention from Snape…that alone was a miraculous feat. Still when he had received the note from Remus asking him to stop by his office after supper he couldn't help but wonder if he was in some sort of trouble for something.

Slowly he reached up and knocked once on the wooden door.

"Come in," came the reply and Harry noted that Remus didn't sound upset in the least, he actually sounded quite cheerful.

He pushed the heavy door open to find Remus sitting in an armchair reading what appeared to be essays he had assigned a few days prior.

"You wanted to see me?" Harry asked as he stood in front of the man.

"Have a seat Harry," Remus smiled as he dropped the essays onto his lap and picked up his wand waving it once and causing an armchair to appear behind the boy.

Smiling Harry sat down.

"I asked you to come see me because I spoke to Sirius earlier today and he will be attending the first Quidditch game this Saturday," Remus spoke the words that caused a smile to spread widely across Harry's face, "And after the game he wants to have dinner here in my office if that's alright with you."

"That's brilliant!" Harry smiled, "But why didn't he just talk to me in the mirror or send me an owl?"

"I confess I asked him if I could tell you, I've been so busy with teaching I feel as if aside from in the classroom I've barely seen you the past few weeks. How are your classes going Harry?"

"They're good…brilliant actually." Harry replied as guilt flew through his body. He had really meant to visit Remus several times already but he had just gotten so wrapped up in other things that he hadn't had a chance.

"Excellent! Good to hear. I must say I've seen nothing but extraordinary work from you in my class."

"Defense is my favorite," Harry smiled, "It always has been and you are a brilliant teacher too."

Remus smiled softly, "Thank you Harry. I also wanted to tell you that I am proud of you for behaving as well as you have been, and I know your godfather is proud of you as well."

The words made Harry want to confess the whole plan that was scheduled to commence in a weeks time but he bit his tongue.

"I'm sure that you've heard of the many times your father, godfather, and myself got into mischief in our day and I'm sure that we appear as hypocrites occasionally but I assure you we only have your very best interests as well as your safety in mind."

"I know," Harry replied, "Really...I do."

Remus smiled as he nodded, "Well I won't keep you I'm sure you have homework to do."

Harry smiled as he stood up and headed for the door pausing before he opened it.

"I'll come visit you again soon okay?" He asked.

"I'd like that," Remus smiled warmly.

Harry returned the smile before walking out of the office and pulling the door shut behind him.

He honestly had meant to visit Remus more often. After all, the man had become like an uncle to him and he wanted that relationship to continue he had just been so caught up in his classes and assignments as well as sneaking off to the girl's lavatory whenever possible. He'd have to get better at visiting though, not only Remus but Hagrid as well…he hadn't even been to see him yet and he was sure that Hagrid was more than aware of that fact.

He'd go tomorrow, he promised himself as he walked down the long hallway back to the Gryffindor tower, without fail.

And then out of no where he heard a dark, low voice.

Harry froze in his spot as he listened carefully. He couldn't make out exactly what it was saying but he distinctly heard the word 'kill'.

The voice began to travel down the corridor and he raced after it wanting to find out whose voice it was and where it was coming from.

He was running so quickly and concentrating on the voice so intently that he didn't even see Snape until he ran right into him.

"Mr. Potter!" His voice thundered.

"I'm sorry Professor, I didn't see you there."

"And just why are you running through the castle at this hour? Dinner has been over for some time, you should be in your common room."

"I was with Rem...Professor Lupin; I was just on my way back to my tower Sir."

"And why were you running?"

"I heard a voice...didn't you hear it Sir?"

"I did not."

"It was moving down the hall so I was following it Professor."

"Indeed," Snape growled, "I suggest Mr. Potter that you continue your journey to Gryffindor tower by walking."

Harry nodded. Snape's miserable attitude had immediately sucked all the joy out of him that he had been feeling over his godfather's upcoming visit.

"And might I also suggest that you and your friends stay out of my personal supply closet."

"Sir?"

"Do not play dumb with me Potter, you and your delinquent friends have been stealing supplies from me and once I catch you, the three of you will be in more trouble then you know how to handle am I clear?"

"I haven't stolen anything!"

Snape raised an eyebrow.

"Sir," Harry added hastily.

"Are you aware of what veritaserum is Potter"

Harry shook his head. He really wanted to just walk away, of course not before telling Snape exactly where he could stick his wand for accusing him and his friends of stealing.

"One drop of it would have you confessing your deepest secrets, unfortunately it is against the rules to use it on a student however if one more ingredient goes missing from my private stock my hand might just slip...do...you...under...stand?"

Harry nodded as he bit down hard on his lower lip to keep him from screaming a string of words that would make even the raunchiest wizard blush.

"Goodnight Potter."

Quickly Harry turned and walked as fast as he possibly could without running. Once he turned and Snape was out of sight he took off into a sprint and didn't stop until he muttered the password to the fat lady.

* * *

"A voice?" Ron asked in a skeptical tone.

Harry nodded as he picked at a fray on the end of his jeans.

"And it said something about killing?" Hermione asked.

Another nod.

His two friends exchanged a look.

"Should I tell someone?" Harry muttered the question.

"Snape said he didn't hear it?" Hermione asked as Harry clarified with a nod.

"I don't think you should tell anyone...not yet anyway...wait and see if you hear it again."

Harry looked up at the witch he considered his best friend. When he had made the decision to tell her and Ron about what had just happened he had expected her to demand she go straight to Dumbeldore or to drag him up to his dormitory and retrieve the mirror so he could tell Sirius instantly, the last thing he expected was for her to tell him to keep quiet.

"Hearing voices generally isn't good," she continued, "even in the Wizarding world."

Ron nodded in agreement.

"I'm not going nutty," Harry replied in an angry voice though he wasn't quite sure where his anger was coming from.

"We know you aren't Harry," Hermione stated in a calm tone, "But it could have been anyone...maybe it was just Peeves messing around."

Harry nodded in agreement but he knew it wasn't Peeves. He had never heard that voice before in his life and it sounded scary, as if it was seriously going to kill someone.

"What'd Snape say when you ran into him?" Ron asked appearing eager to change the subject.

"He accused us of stealing ingredients from his private stock."

The boys watched as Hermione's face blushed several shades of red.

"You?" Harry asked in amazement.

"I'm sorry! I never thought he would notice he has such a huge stock of supplies and I needed some things for the potion."

Harry felt a smile creep across his face as he heard Ron snicker under his breath.

"What?" Hermione demanded.

"You're brilliant," Harry said simply, "Stealing from Snape...I don't think I'd have it in me to do that."

"You are pretty amazing Hermione," Ron agreed.

Hermione blushed involuntarily, "Stop! I didn't have a choice. And speaking of that, it's going to be ready in a few days time...by this weekend I think."

"We can do it after the match this Saturday," Ron exclaimed.

"Sirius is coming for the match and afterwards I am having dinner with him and Remus."

"Well after that then," Ron decided, "We have the cloak if we need it."

The other two nodded in agreement. Ron was right, they did have the cloak and the sooner they got this over with the better now that Snape realized they had taken ingredients from him. Still, Harry couldn't help but be nervous about trying such a plan just minutes after spending time with his godfather. It made it seem worse, as if because he would be spending time with Sirius moments before they would try and pull off such a scheme then he would have ample time to tell him, to confess, and he was well aware he wouldn't be.

* * *

The rest of the week passed by quickly and before Harry knew it he was mounted on his broom high above the Quidditch pitch searching for the snitch which he eventually found, despite the pouring rain, causing Gryffindor to win the match. He smiled proudly as he watched his friends, godfather, and Remus, as well as Hagrid whom he had visited twice in the past few days cheer him on from the stands.

Freshly showered after the match Harry made his way to Remus' office ready for an early dinner with two of his favorite people. He had asked Sirius before the match if they could eat early because he had a ton of homework to do, it wasn't really a lie, he did have homework, though none of it would be getting completed that night.

He was just about to turn down the long hallway that ended with the door to the Defense room when he heard the voice once more, this time louder and if possible it sounded angrier.

Once more Harry froze to his spot listening closely.

"Kill," the voice hissed, "Kill."

Harry began to move following the voice down the corridor. His pace quickened as it neared the Defense room and then just like before it disappeared completely.

He stood outside the classroom breathing rapidly. He didn't care what Ron and Hermione thought, he was not going mental, he did not imagine this voice. His first instinct was to tell Sirius but that thought quickly passed. What if Sirius thought the same thing his friends did? What if he thought Harry was just losing it? Or worse what if he actually did believe him and thought there was something dangerous going on at Hogwarts? What if he made him go home?

Harry stood outside the classroom for several more moments forcing his breathing to go back to normal before he opened the door and made his way towards the office.

He knocked once to be met by Sirius swinging the door open and enveloping him into a huge hug.

"You were brilliant out there," Sirius exclaimed, "Simply brilliant! I haven't seen Quidditch played like that since your father was out on that pitch!"

Harry smiled as he breathed in the scent of his godfather's aftershave.

"You were amazing Harry," Remus added, "You played quite well."

"Thanks," Harry responded as Sirius let him go.

"And I hear you are doing remarkably well in all your classes," Sirius gushed, "My godson is at the top of his Defense class! I've never been prouder!"

Harry smiled once more forcing his feelings of guilt out of the way.

"Well let's sit and eat," Sirius smiled as he led Harry over to the table, "I know you have homework to do tonight and the last thing I want to do is get in the way of your perfect marks."

"My marks aren't perfect," Harry sighed, "My potions marks aren't anywhere near perfect."

"Oh you'll do fine in potions," Remus smiled as he took his seat at the table, "I know Professor Snape's class may be challenging but you will do just fine."

"You'll do better than fine!" Sirius smiled as he too sat down, "I know you'll bring home nothing but extraordinary marks."

Harry laughed as he sat, he couldn't help it he hadn't seen his godfather this happy and carefree in a long time, "Don't get your hopes up with potions Sirius."

"You have a lot of your mother in you and she was excellent at potions," Sirius smiled, "You'll be fine."

"Lily was quite amazing when it came to potions," Remus agreed, "She was quite gifted in all her classes."

Harry smiled he loved hearing about how smart his mother was, it gave him hope that one day he could be just as smart as she had been.

"And aside from classes how is everything else?" Sirius asked as food appeared on the table before them.

"Everything is good," Harry replied after taking a long sip of his pumpkin juice, "Ron and I went and visited with Hagrid earlier this week, he was telling us about his trip to Romania that he took this summer...he went and saw dragons there."

Harry added this last part hoping it wouldn't bring up any discussions about his past transactions with dragons. The dragon incident had occurred a little less than a year ago. Harry remembered it vaguely. It was the first time he had broken a serious rule with his new guardian and he had expected Sirius to react by deciding that his godson was simply too much trouble. However, Sirius hadn't reacted at all he had congratulated Harry on his mischief. Things certainly had changed a great deal since then, Harry was almost positive that if the dragon incident occurred now he'd face much more than a congratulatory letter. Actually he was positive he'd face a very angry godfather.

"I'm glad Hagrid enjoyed his trip," Sirius smiled, "He was always fond of strange and dangerous animals."

Remus nodded in agreement, "He is very good with them, I have seen him take care of animals that would cause others to run screaming."

"Hagrid is brilliant," Harry smiled as he took a bite of his food.

Sirius returned the smile and nodded in agreement. He knew how fond his godson was of Hagrid. After all, it had been Hagrid who had rescued him from the Dursleys and brought him to Hogwarts. He had been the first one to save his godson in a sense and Sirius was grateful to the man for it.

"So Harry," Remus smiled, "Tell us how exactly you managed to see that snitch from across the pitch in the pouring rain."

Harry smiled brightly as he took a deep breath and began to relive the game he had just played with his godfather and Remus smiling proudly and hanging on his every word.

* * *

It was suppertime when Harry finally made it back to the common room and he wasn't surprised to find only Ron and Hermione occupying the space.

"Go get your cloak," Hermione instructed, "And then I'll explain the rest of the plan."

Harry didn't bother to respond to her but simply ran up to his dormitory and retrieved the cloak from his trunk before hurrying to rejoin his friends.

"Okay you two need to take these," she instructed handing Ron and Harry two cupcakes, "And make sure Crabbe and Goyle get them, there is a sleeping draft in them and when they eat them they should be out cold for at least an hour or so. Once they are asleep hide them somewhere and then take some of their hair...just a few strands."

"Hair?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded. "Just a few strands," she repeated, "And then meet me in the lavatory."

"Why do we need their hair?"

"I'll explain in the lavatory Ron, just go!"

Harry quickly slipped his cloak over both himself and Ron and then the two quietly and quickly made their way to the dungeons.

They stood outside the Slytherin common room for what seemed like ages before Crabbe and Goyle rounded the corner. Performing a quick spell Harry made the cupcakes float through the air and stop inches in front of their faces. Without even a moment of hesitation the two large boys grabbed the treats and practically inhaled them.

Ron and Harry moved quickly dragging the two overweight boys into a broom closet and leaving them there, but not before borrowing a few hairs as well as Slytherin robes from each of them.

Once the closet was securely shut they raced off towards the lavatory.

"The hairs need to go into your cup," Hermione instructed as she handed them each a goblet full of the thick bubbling potion.

"You want me to drink Crabbe?" Ron asked in a disgusted voice.

"You have to in order to transform into him."

"That's disgusting," Ron exclaimed, "Who are you drinking?"

"Pansy Parkinson, she is a friend of Malfoys and I overheard her saying she was going to be in detention all evening with Professor McGonagall so I know she won't show up in their common room."

"We're going into the Slytherin common room?" Harry asked in a shocked voice.

"Of course we are. How else do you expect to talk to Malfoy about this?"

Hermione sighed in an annoyed way as she added the hairs to her drink and then held it out to toast the boys.

Sighing back moans of disgust both boys followed her suit and the three of them clanked goblets before tilting their heads back and drinking.

The moment Harry took the goblet away from his lips he felt it. He looked in the mirror and watched as his face bubbled and then quickly transformed into Goyle's face. Clutching his stomach he ran into a bathroom stall sure he was going to sick up but miraculously the feeling quickly passed. Looking down he realized his entire body had transformed as well.

Slowly he made his way out of the stall to be met by Crabbe as well as Pansy.

"Brilliant," he breathed a large smile creeping across his face.

"Take off your glasses," Hermione instructed and Harry quickly obeyed setting them on the sink. He immediately took note that he no longer needed them, along with Goyle's body he had clearly also stolen his eyesight.

"Alright we only have an hour so we better go," Hermione breathed as she led the way to the bathroom door.

"Shame, shame, shame," came the voice of Myrtle from her own stall, "Breaking all the rules little Gryffindors."

* * *

"We don't know the password," Ron whispered as the three of them approached the Slytherin common room.

Hermione sucked in her breath clearly she had forgotten about this one little setback.

Just then Professor Snape walked up behind them causing Harry to actually feel his dinner rising in his stomach. They were caught.

"And just what are you three doing?" Snape asked and Harry noticed immediately that his voice was softer than he had ever heard it.

"We forgot the password Sir," Hermione spoke the words and Harry felt a surge of a new found respect for his best friend. He would have never been able to speak to Snape as if he was actually a Slytherin, he could face a form of Voldermort no problem, but to face Snape and act the part...out of the question.

"Its scurvy-grass," Snape supplied without a second thought, "It was just changed this morning remember."

Hermione nodded politely, "Thank you Professor."

Snape nodded in response before continuing down the hall and Harry realized that this may have been the nicest conversation he had ever witnessed Snape having. It was obvious that when he was alone with his Slytherins he wasn't nearly as mean as he normally appeared.

Seconds after Snape moved on Hermione said the correct password and the large dungeon door opened. The three friends walked inside to find Malfoy sitting on the couch. He looked up obviously annoyed with them.

"Where have you three been? Supper has been over for ages now!"

"We were eating dessert," Harry said wondering if that sounded legit at all.

Malfoy smirked. "Stuffing your face as always Goyle."

Harry forced a little laugh and followed Hermione's lead by walking across the large common room and sitting down on the couch.

"Potter wasn't at dinner," Hermione noted and Harry was again amazed by his best friend and how easily she managed to bring him up and shift the conversation.

"Potter," Malfoy sneered, "I heard he was off eating with the pathetic Defense teacher and his godfather."

Harry felt his insides boil at Malfoys description of Remus.

"I heard someone has been pranking him," Harry suddenly found his voice.

Malfoy laughed at this. "Good! He deserves it! Potter thinks he is some big celebrity."

"I thought it was you pranking him," clearly Ron had found his voice as well.

"You thought wrong Crabbe; it isn't worth my time to play pranks on Potter."

So it wasn't Malfoy. But then did that mean Hogwarts truly wasn't safe?

**TBC...**


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Note: As promised here is the next chapter. I already have the next one more than half way done so expect it sometime next week if not sooner. As always thank you so much for all the reviews, favortie story adds, etc. I know I am horrible about responding to you all but I really do cherish every review I get, trust me...and you are all so encouraging.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Harry sat in the great hall enjoying the fest with his friends. He had talked to Sirius earlier that day through the mirror and although Sirius had said that he had just wanted to say hello, to check in and make sure his godson was doing okay, Harry suspected the conversation had more to do with the date. It was Halloween night, the anniversary of the night his parent's were killed, the anniversary of the night he lived. Last year he had been upset on this date but this year he was honestly feeling okay. It wasn't that he didn't miss his parents because he did, he'd give anything to have them back, but he had Sirius now and Remus and although they didn't replace his parents they kept their memory alive.

"Have you tried this pumpkin cake?" Ron asked as he helped himself to a third piece.

Harry shook his head. In all honesty he was stuffed. All he really wanted to do was go lie down in his bed. He had a busy day tomorrow, Quidditch practice in the morning, followed by a visit with Remus, and then planning with Ron and Hermione to try and figure out what was going on.

He yawned as he glanced down the table. Ginny was sitting alone writing like a maniac in some book. She looked sad and as if she was lost.

"Is Ginny okay?" Harry asked.

"I think she's really stressed out," Hermione noted, "first year is hard. I think she missed her parents as well."

"Plus she's mental," Ron added his mouth full of cake.

"Honestly how do you eat so much?" Hermione asked in disgust as Harry watched Ginny get up and leave the great hall her book clutched tightly to her stomach.

"I'm growing!"

Harry smiled at his friend's playful banter.

"You're like an animal!"

"I'm going to head up," Harry yawned once more, "I'll see you guys later."

"I am not an animal," Ron argued, "I'm just hungry."

Harry smiled as he left his two best friends behind. However once he was away from them his thoughts couldn't help drifting back to Ginny. He hardly knew her considering she wouldn't speak to him or even stay in the same room as him for more than a few moments but he couldn't help but feel a surge of protectiveness towards her, after all she was his best mate's little sister. He wished there was a way he could help her but that would be hard given the circumstances. He tried to think back on his first year, it had been hard but he didn't recall being as upset as Ginny seemed lately but then again he wasn't a girl.

Harry was so deep in thought that he didn't even see the water until he was ankle deep in it. He felt his socks getting wet and then he heard the voice hissing kill once more, faintly. Quickly he looked up to find Filch's cat Mrs. Norris hanging in the air.

"You!" He heard the angry voice, "You did this!"

Harry turned his head to see Filch standing inches away from him looking livid.

Then as if on cue other students as well as staff began to fill the hall. Obviously, dinner was over.

"Harry Potter!" Filch all but screamed, "He killed my poor Mrs. Norris."

Harry wanted to yell out that he didn't, that he would never, but he couldn't find his voice.

He watched as Dumbeldore approached the cat and touched it gently.

"He's killed her." Filch yelled once more.

"She is not dead, she is petrified," Dumbeldore stated calmly.

"He did it!" Filch yelled once more.

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Professor McGonagall standing beside him.

"Utter nonsense...no second year...no student could have done this, the magic is far too advanced."

Harry smiled thankfully at her but she didn't seem to notice, what she did notice however was that there was quite a crowd forming.

"All of you off to your dormitories immediately," she announced suddenly taking complete control of the situation.

Harry turned quickly hoping he would be able to make it back to the common room to talk to Ron and Hermione before anyone realized he was gone. Unfortunately though he had no such luck. The moment he took a step he felt someone grab him by the arm.

"Come to my office please," Remus spoke the words.

Harry opened his mouth to speak but quickly closed it as he saw Snape join the crowd of teachers. Instead he followed Remus in silence.

The moment the office door closed behind them Harry broke his silence afraid he would burst if he didn't.

"I didn't do anything to Mrs. Norris!" He exclaimed praying Remus would believe him.

"Of course you didn't, you couldn't have...you wouldn't have...ever...I know that Harry."

"I'm sorry I just thought you thought I did," Harry spoke the words softly as he saw the hurt look on Remus' face.

"There is no need to be sorry. I should have explained along the way. I didn't want to speak to you in front of everyone. I just thought that perhaps you saw something or heard something before finding the cat."

Harry thought about the voice he had heard. The voice that had said kill. The voice that Filch clearly didn't hear. And then he shook his head.

"I didn't hear or see anything."

Remus stared at him for several moments before speaking and Harry was sure he could see right through his lie.

Finally Remus sighed loudly, "I'm sorry I drug you down here. I just thought you might have..."

"What does petrified mean? Will Mrs. Norris be okay?" Harry quickly changed the subject.

"The Petrification effect resembles death, except that the victim is still alive, as if in suspended animation. It takes careful examination to discern whether a victim is in fact petrified rather than dead which is why Professor Dumbeldore took a closer look at Mrs. Norris."

"Can Dumbeldore fix her?"

"Professor Dumbeldore will enlist Madam Pomfrey along with Professor Sprout to help I am sure," Remus explained, "as mandrake roots are needed in order to cure Mrs. Norris."

"But who did it and what does it mean?"

Remus was silent for several seconds before answering, "That I am not sure of but it's not for you to worry about, Dumbeldore as well as the rest of the staff will get to the bottom of it."

Harry didn't say anything but he was almost positive by the Professor's delay in response that he knew a bit more than he was letting on.

* * *

"You heard the voice again right before you found Mrs. Norris and you didn't tell Remus?" Hermione asked in a shocked voice.

Harry nodded. "You told me not to tell anyone! You said I was going nutty!"

"I never said that," Hermione argued, "I just said hearing voices isn't good which it isn't but the two things are probably connected.....the voices and Mrs. Norris."

"I realize that," Harry spat the words causing Hermione to flinch.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean that, I'm just mad is all. I want to know what is going on and why this is happening."

"People think you did it," Ron spoke up, "Malfoy and the other Slytherins...they think you hurt Mrs. Norris."

"That's not very helpful Ron," Hermione hissed as Harry threw his arms up in the air.

"I didn't!"

"We know that," Ron replied sheepishly, "It's just what people are saying."

Hermione's eyes suddenly lit up as she jumped slightly in her seat. "Dobby is connected to all of this!"

"What?" Ron asked.

"Dobby, the house elf who visited Harry!"

"I know who he is," Ron replied.

"Don't you see then, he warned you not to come to Hogwarts," Hermione noted, "And now things are happening...or well something happened with Mrs. Norris and it was almost blamed on you."

"I don't see how the two things are connected," Ron replied, "I mean if it was me in the hallway people would be saying I did it."

"But it wasn't you, it was Harry."

"So?" Harry replied.

"So the two are connected trust me...I'll have to do some research and see if I can find anything about animals or people being petrified."

* * *

"I do apologize for last night," Remus spoke the words as he poured Harry a cup of tea, "I never meant for you to think I was accusing you."

"It's alright," Harry replied honestly, "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. But Remus, Professor McGonagall said a student couldn't have hurt Mrs. Norris so does that mean a teacher did?"

Remus was silent for several moments before answering and Harry could tell he didn't really want to do so.

"A teacher would not do such a thing," he finally said.

"But then who?"

"Harry I know that you must have a million questions about this and I wish I could answer them but I cannot. As a Professor of this school I cannot and as your godfather's friend I cannot."

"What does Sirius have to do with this?" Harry asked before taking a sip of his tea.

"Sirius wants you to concentrate on your studies and leave the problems to the adults," Remus stated simply.

Harry sighed he knew what Remus was saying was true but still.

"I didn't say I wanted to fix the problem."

At this Remus chuckled. "You don't have to say it, it is written all over your face, after all you are your father's son."

Harry scowled as he took another sip of his tea. "So you won't tell me anything."

"I will tell you that Mrs. Norris will be fine and I will also tell you that it is in your best interest to forget about all of this. You are only twelve years old Harry, leave the problems to be worked out by the adults, it's what we are here for."

* * *

Two days later when Harry and Ron were walking to Defense class Harry heard the voice once more.

"Do you hear it?" He questioned Ron as he began following it down the hall.

"Hear what?" Ron asked as he followed his best mate.

"The voice...the voice talking about killing," Harry was running now and Ron was struggling to carry his books and keep up with him.

"Harry I don't hear anything!" Ron exclaimed as he chased after his friend.

And then just as quickly as it had started, it stopped and Harry stopped dead in his tracks causing Ron to bump into him.

"You didn't hear it? It came down this way."

Ron shook his red head with a worried look on his face, "I didn't hear anything."

Harry stood quietly for a moment, half hoping the voice would suddenly re-appear and half wishing he had never heard it in the first place.

"We're going to be late for class," Ron mumbled the words.

Harry nodded as he turned and followed his friend back down the hallway.

Maybe Hermione was right. Maybe Dobby was connected to all of this. Maybe he had something to do with the voice he kept hearing and with Mrs. Norris.

"How nice of you two to join us," Remus smiled as Harry and Ron entered the classroom.

The desks were pushed to the side and the class was all standing around the back of the room. A large wardrobe stood in the front.

"Sorry Professor," Harry replied as he and Ron joined his classmates.

"Quite alright," Remus smiled, "I was just telling the class that today we are going to learn how to face a boggart. A boggart is a shape shifter that lives in dark, confined spaces, and takes the form of the thing most feared by the person it encounters. Now to defeat a boggart you simply wave you wand and say Riddikulus. Now form a line please and we'll give it a try."

Harry smiled as he quickly found a place in the line just after Dean Thomas. He wasn't sure what form his boggart would take but he had a pretty good idea it would be Voldermort which he wasn't looking forward too but nevertheless this did seem like a fun lesson and after everything that had been going on lately he could use some fun.

Harry laughed along with his classmates as he watched Neville's boggart of Professor Snape turn into Professor Snape dressed as a woman and Ron's boggart of a spider turn into a spider on roller skates. Dean was up next and Harry watched as a large snake appeared before him.

"Hello," the snake smiled at Harry.

"Hello," he replied, "I didn't know boggarts could talk."

And then before he realized what was happening the boggart disappeared back into the wardrobe which slammed shut. Everyone in the room was starring at him, mouths hanging open, including Remus.

"Alright class that's enough of that for today...class is dismissed...or rather go to the library and work on page thirty four."

Harry starred at Remus wondering why he was looking at him like he had seen a ghost.

"Harry stay here please."

Harry watched as his friends quickly exited the room looking simply terrified of him all except for Ron and Hermione who looked shocked. Once every student was gone Remus quickly crossed the room and shut the door.

"You're a parselmouth,' Remus finally spoke, "Did you know that?"

"A what?" Harry asked hating himself for sounding so stupid.

"You can speak to snakes...they can speak to you."

"Can't everyone? Can't you?"

Remus shook his head, "It's very, very rare. I only know of one other parselmouth. We need to floo your godfather immediately."

"Who? Who was the other person?"

But Remus didn't answer him, he was already head deep into the fireplace and moment's later Sirius was standing before him as well.

"Harry did you know you could speak to snakes?"

Harry nodded. "I've spoken to them before, well once at the zoo."

Sirius sighed as he ran a hand down his face.

"Who else was a parselmouth," Harry asked once more becoming frustrated with both his godfather as well as Remus.

"Voldermort," Sirius answered without any hesitation.

Harry looked up at his godfather with a shocked face.

"It doesn't mean anything though," Sirius continued, "Just because it is rare and you two share the trait, it means nothing."

"An entire class saw him speak with the snake," Remus noted, "And that on top of what happened on Halloween."

"Will one of you please explain this to me?" Harry asked.

It was obvious to him that both Sirius and Remus knew something he didn't; they probably knew plenty that he didn't. Clearly somehow this was all connected.

"You need to head to the library with the rest of the class," Remus replied.

"No!" Harry shook his head, "Explain this to me Sirius."

"No Pup, Remus is right go ahead we'll talk later."

"No!" Harry repeated once more, "I want to know what is going on now!"

Sirius turned and gave his godson a look that made Harry wish the floor would suck him up.

"Harry I am not going to ask you again, I understand that you are confused but I cannot explain anything to you until I speak with Professor Dumbeldore about all of this and even then you may not be at librety to know now please go to the library."

Harry didn't dare open his mouth to protest but he did dare to stand his ground and so he didn't move an inch.

"I am losing patience Harry...go."

Harry sighed loudly before turning and walking out of the room.

Sirius wanted to keep secrets then fine he could keep them.

He stomped his way all the way to the library and his mood only got worse once he walked in to his entire class starring at him. Quickly he spotted Ron and Hermione and sat down at the small table with them.

"You never told us you are a parselmouth!" Ron exclaimed before Harry even made contact with the chair.

"I didn't know," Harry muttered the reply.

"How could you not know?" Ron exclaimed once more.

"Ron really," Hermione sighed.

"Really what? I mean it's not like everyone can just chat it up with snakes!" Ron continued, "Are you sure you didn't know about it?"

Harry had had enough. It wasn't so much what Ron was saying it was how he was saying it. And that on top of Sirius not telling him anything and basically pushing him away like some child was more than he could handle.

Without a word Harry stood up once more and walked away.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked.

But Harry didn't answer he just continued walking. Once out of the library he headed for the Gryffindor tower and he didn't so much as pause until he got there.

He sank down into the large couch quite angry with the world. How could Sirius have just treated him like such a child? How could Ron have doubted what he had said? He sighed loudly as he thought about what he had just done he was sure there would be repercussions for leaving the library and coming back to the tower but he didn't care. Remus could give him detention and Sirius could lecture all he wanted he just didn't care anymore. He leaned back on the couch resting his head on the large cushions as he closed his eyes for just a moment.

"Harry" Hermione shook him gently.

Slowly he opened his eyes blinking several times before he focused in on Hermione standing before him.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Not too long I guess, Defense just ended…Remus was looking for you."

Harry shrugged, "I don't care."

"Everyone else is already down at supper."

"I'm not hungry."

"I know you're upset but you can't stave yourself."

"I said I'm not hungry," Harry replied as he sat up and stretched his arms.

"What did Remus say after we left? Do you want to talk about it?"

He didn't really want to talk about it but he knew she was only trying to help and so he told her everything that had happened. When he stopped speaking she was quiet for several moments.

"I know you don't want to hear this but I really think you should talk to Sirius or Remus or even Dumbeldore and tell them about Dobby and about the voice you keep hearing."

"Didn't you hear what I just said? Sirius treated me like a child, like I don't know anything. I'm not telling him anything. Besides I'd have to admit that I've been keeping this all from them."

Hermione sighed. "So then what are we going to do?"

Harry immediately took note of Hermione's use of the word **we **and couldn't help but smile, she was a true friend through and through.

"We need to figure out where the voice is coming from and what it has to do with me talking to snakes."

Hermione nodded as if this task would be as simple as playing a game of chess.

And just then the portrait opened and the room quickly filled with Gryffindors.

"Dinner shouldn't be over yet," Hermione noted as Ron approached them.

"Colin Creevy, some first year kid, he was petrified just like Mrs. Norris. McGonagall found him in the hallway, they sent him to the hospital wing and Dumbeldore sent us all to our towers, he said he'd have dinner sent up."

Harry raised an eyebrow at his friend; it was rare he had so much information at once.

"Oh and we're supposed to stay in our towers all night, no exceptions."

In Harry's opinion that was very good news. Staying in the tower went avoiding Remus and a lecture or detention.

"We need to find a quiet place to talk," Hermione responded in a hushed voice.

"Should I get my cloak?"

Hermione shook her head quickly, "leaving the tower now would be practically begging for trouble. But first thing tomorrow we need to meet somewhere…by the lake maybe, somewhere we can talk alone."

* * *

Harry and Ron walked out by the lake the following morning to find Hermione already pacing around.

"You weren't at breakfast," Ron greeted her.

"I was in the library and I think I've figured it out."

"Figured out what exactly?" Harry asked.

"Why you can hear the voice and no one else can…it's a snake, the voice is a snake."

**TBC...**


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: As you can probably tell I've really caught the writing bug as of lately. The next chapter will be up in the next few days, maybe sooner, it all depends on how much I end up finishing tonight. **

**As always thank you for the reviews, favortie story adds, etc. You are all very kind and encouraging.**

**This chapter as well as the next few include a very mad, hurt Harry which I'm not exactly used to writing so if it comes off as horribly done, feel free to tell me...nicely.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"A snake?" Harry questioned.

Hermione nodded quickly, "Don't you see that's why only you can hear it, and that's why Remus said that you talking to a snake on top of what happened on Halloween was so bad."

Harry thought about this for a split second before he nodded in response, "You're right."

"But if it was a snake wouldn't people see it?" Ron asked.

"That's the only part I haven't figured out yet," Hermione admitted, "I'm going to do some more research though."

* * *

It was hours later just as Harry was about to leave the great hall after lunch when he received a note asking him to please meet with Remus that evening. The note didn't mention anything about a detention and Harry was hopeful that Remus would understand why he had left the library.

He turned the corner on his way to meet Ron and Hermione for Transfiguration class when he heard the voice once more, this time hissing about smelling blood. Racing down the corridor he stopped at a halt as he saw Megan Jones a girl from Hufflepuff lying on the ground. Her face was as white as stone, above her on the wall where the words, 'The Chamber Has Been Opened. Enemies Of The Heir, Beware.

Harry felt someone walk up behind him and he quickly turned to find Ron standing there.

"What…"

"I don't know, I heard the voice again," Harry explained, "And then I found her like this."

"We have to go" Ron instructed pulling on Harry's sleeve, there was no denying the fear in his voice.

"But shouldn't we…"

"No," Ron shook his head, "We don't want to be found here, trust me."

But it was too late no sooner did the words leave his mouth than Professor Snape rounded the corner.

He stood quietly for a moment, taking in the scene and when he spoke his voice was low and terrifying.

"You two will follow me to Professor Dumbeldore's office at once."

"Professor please we didn't do this," Harry tired.

But Snape didn't acknowledge his words. He merely pointed a finger in the direction of the office and starred down at the two boys in his intimidating manner.

Harry knew better than to argue any further and so he forced his mouth to keep shut and quickly walked in the direction of the large gargoyle.

Once there Snape spoke the password and led the two boys up the stairs.

Dumbeldore looked up from his desk with kind eyes, almost as if to say that whatever they had done surely couldn't be as bad as Professor Snape was making it out to be.

"Megan Jones is petrified in the corridor by Professor McGonagall's office and these two were found at the scene. It is as we feared Professor, the writing is on the wall," Snape explained the moment he set foot into the room. And then he turned and walked out leaving Harry and Ron standing there.

"Please Professor Dumbeldore," Harry pleaded, "We didn't…"

Dumbeldore held up a hand and Harry stopped speaking immediately.

"I know you didn't boys however I must ask if you heard or saw anything unusual."

Harry wanted to speak up about the voice he had been hearing but he was still hurt over his godfather's attitude the previous day and so he simply shook his head.

"I didn't hear anything," Ron answered honestly.

Dumbeldore sighed as he rubbed his forehead, "The two of you may go to your class."

"You didn't tell him," Ron whispered as they hurried back towards Professor McGonagall's classroom, "Why didn't you tell him?"

Harry ignored Ron's questioning. It was too much to explain, too difficult to explain.

He pushed the door open to find their Transfiguration class copying notes from the blackboard though McGonagall was no where to be seen.

Quickly Harry and Ron took there seats as their fellow classmates starred.

"Someone else was hurt weren't they?" Lavender Brown asked.

Harry nodded though he wasn't sure if he should have or not.

"Who was it?" Seamus Finnigan asked.

Harry opened his mouth to answer but just as he did McGonagall re-entered the classroom and he quickly shut his mouth and took out a piece of parchment.

The class continued to copy the notes in silence for several moments and then Harry heard the distinct sound of Hermione clearing her throat loudly.

He looked up to see her sitting with her hand raised highly in the air.

"Yes Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked a moment or two later when she finally looked up and noticed her.

"Professor please, can you tell us what is going on?"

Harry noticed that the moment the words left Hermione's mouth the rest of the class stopped writing and looked up as well.

McGonagall sighed loudly before nodding once.

"Against my better judgment I will, but only because the background to the events that have been taken place are all just a ludicrous tale."

She paused for a moment to clear her throat and Harry realized that like himself, even student in the room was holding their breath waiting for her to begin.

"Megan Jones was just found petrified in the corridor. Above her were the words, 'the chamber has been opened, enemies of the heir beware.' As you all know Hogwarts was founded by the four greatest witches and wizards of that time and for a few years the founders worked together nicely but disagreements aroused. Unlike the others, Slytherin wished to be more selective in the choosing of the students of this school, he believed that only pure blood students should be allowed to attend Hogwarts. After some time there were great arguments between Slytherin and the others and so he left."

McGonagall paused once more and Harry could see that every student in the room was hanging on her every word, anxious as ever for her to continue.

"Reliable history tells us this much, however there is a legend which has never been proven true. The legend is that Slytherin had hidden a chamber in the castle which no one knew of and sealed it so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir would be able to open the chamber and unleash all the horror within. Of course this is all nonsense, the school has been searched many, many times and no chamber ceases to exist."

Professor McGonagall was clearly done telling her story now as she looked back down at her desk and picked up her quill once more preparing to go back to her work.

Hermione's hand immediately shot into the air as she cleared her throat just as loudly as before.

"Yes Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked without so much as looking up.

"Professor…what exactly do you mean by the horror within?"

McGonagall placed her quill down as she looked up at the class once more. "The chamber is believed to be home to a monster that only the heir of Slytherin alone can control but I promise you the thing does not exist there is no chamber and no monster."

Once again McGonagall lowered her head, picked up her quill, and returned to her work and this time her class did as well.

Harry picked up his quill with a shaking hand. He had heard the words McGonagall had just spoken but he didn't believe them all to be true. After all he had heard the voice talking about killing and blood. And he knew something no one else did…the sorting hat had wanted to put him in Slytherin. Could it be him? No, that was rubbish. He hadn't opened any stupid chamber. Still, he could hear the voice and he was close to being a Slytherin.

* * *

The rest of the day was a busy one as Harry had homework to do after McGonagall's class and then Quidditch practice before dinner. When he finally made it to the great hall he was starving and ate quickly, surprisingly faster then even Ron.

"I have to go meet with Remus," he explained to his friends moments after he saw Remus exit the great hall, "But wait up for me if you can, I have to talk to both of you."

His friends nodded in agreement and Harry raced off to the Defense room.

He walked in expecting to find Remus in his office but instead the man was in the classroom sitting at his desk.

"You ate quickly," Remus noted.

Harry nodded, "I was real hungry after practice."

"I imagine you were," Remus smiled kindly, "Have a seat Harry."

Harry crossed the room and took a seat at the desk directly in front of Remus'.

"I wanted to talk to you about earlier today, I'm not angry that you left the library, I understand that you must have been feeling more than a little overwhelmed."

Harry nodded once.

"I want you to understand that I felt sending you there was the best option, I had to speak to both Sirius as well as Dumbeldore before speaking to you and I hope you aren't upset with me for doing so."

"I'm not," Harry replied and honestly he wasn't. All his anger over the situation was directed solely at his godfather. He knew he was only twelve and he understood what Sirius meant by letting adults handle the problems but that didn't mean he had to be treated like a complete child, like he knew nothing. And he didn't need Sirius getting angry with him or losing his patience over something he couldn't even control.

"I heard that Professor McGonagall explained things today."

Harry nodded in reply.

"I hope you do believe that the chamber is nothing but an old legend," Remus continued, "Such a thing does not exist and the events that have been taking place are clearly someone's sick idea of a joke."

"I know," Harry replied. However, he didn't know any of that nor did he believe it. He was convinced that there was a chamber and it was open and nothing Remus or anyone else said was going to convince him otherwise.

"Good," Remus smiled, "However I didn't call you here just to discuss this chamber nonsense…I am going to visit Sirius for a bit tonight and I already cleared it with Professor Dumbeldore and you are more than welcome to join me."

"No thank you," Harry answered without even a second of hesitation.

"You don't want to go home and see your godfather?" Remus asked in a surprised voice.

"I just…I have a lot of homework to do." He lied.

"Well that's too bad…I know Sirius will be very disappointed."

Harry nodded forcing a sad look onto his face, "I wish I could go but I just can't, I have a huge essay I have to do for potions and Hermione is going to help me tonight."

"Well next time then."

Harry nodded, "Next time."

"I suppose I should let you get to your homework then."

* * *

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat at a table in the common room doing homework and counting down the seconds until everyone went to bed and left them alone. Most of their fellow Gryffindors had already turned in; however, Fred and George were still sitting by the fireplace working on a spell.

"Can't you tell us anything with them here?" Ron asked in a hushed voice.

Harry simply shook his head as he continued writing an essay for Herbology.

He heard Ron scowl in reply.

* * *

"Do you think he really had homework?"

"Oh there isn't a doubt in my mind that he did but I also think this goes further than that, I've never known Harry to choose homework over anything."

Sirius sighed as he ran a hand through his long hair.

"He's upset with me."

"Possibly, yes."

"Oh don't give me that possibly bull Mooney, he is and you know it."

"You were rather harsh with him," Remus responded in a gentle voice.

"I was out of my mind with worry, he can speak to snakes and people are being petrified!"

"You don't honestly believe in that chamber nonsense do you?"

"Not necessarily but someone or something is petrifying people while my godson is in the same building. My godson who is on the hit list of the most feared wizard in the world."

"I understand you're worrying Padfoot, I worry about Harry also but you can't take it out on him."

"Should I floo to Hogwarts and speak with him? Or maybe use the mirror."

"Harry is James' son, give him a day or two to cool off and then speak with him it'll be better that way…for both of you I reckon."

* * *

Finally just after midnight Fred and George bid the trio goodnight and headed up to their beds.

"Okay start talking," Ron demanded.

"There is a chamber and it has been opened," Harry said in a hushed voice, "The monster is obviously a snake like you said Hermione and that's why I can hear it."

"But why can't anyone see it?" Ron asked.

"I never had a chance to get to the library and research today but I'll have time tomorrow."

"I think we should talk to someone who would know all about Hogwarts history," Harry said.

"Professor Binns?" Ron asked.

"Hagrid!" Hermione piped up, "He used to go to Hogwarts and he's lived here since then, he might know something."

"We can go see him tomorrow," Harry agreed before he continued with his news, "And I think we should look for the chamber, I think I could open it."

"Why do you think that?" Ron asked.

"Well I can speak to snakes and if the monster is a snake which we're pretty sure it is then maybe I can talk to the chamber and make it open."

"But how are we going to find the chamber?" Hermione wondered aloud.

* * *

"Arry! Ron! Mione!" Hagrid smiled broadly as he opened his front door widely to let the three of them enter his hut. "It's so nice of you three to visit!"

"Hey Hagrid," Harry smiled as he and Ron took a seat at the kitchen table leaving Hermione to sit on the large couch.

"I was afraid you all would be too busy to visit this year," Hagrid smiled as he sat down on the couch next to Hermione, "So tell me how are classes?"

"They're good," Harry replied, "But we actually came to talk to you about something."

"What's that?"

Harry looked to Hermione for help.

"Umm Hagrid," the young witch started, "Do you know anything about the chamber of secrets?"

Harry watched as the color of Hagrid's face changed drastically, "No! I know nothing about that!"

The trio quickly exchanged a look and it was clear they all agreed that their huge friend did indeed know plenty about it.

"Please Hagrid," Hermione tried once more, "People are getting hurt and we want to try and do some research and help but we don't know where to start."

"Research," he laughed, "you expect me to believe that after what you three did last year with the stone."

"Please Hagrid," Harry tried, "We want to help, the teachers don't believe there is a chamber and we want to show them that there is."

"Oh there is," Hagrid replied and the look on his face showed that he immediately regretted opening his mouth.

"So then won't you tell us about it?" Ron asked.

Hagrid shook his head firmly, "Absolutely not."

Harry sighed as he and Hermione exchanged a sad look.

"Besides I don't know near as much about it as Myrtle does."

Harry's face lit up.

"I shouldn't have said that."

* * *

"So we'll go and talk to Myrtle right after dinner," Harry smiled as he led the way back up to the castle.

"We'll have to be careful," Hermione noted, "If Hagrid knows that Myrtle knows something about the chamber then I'm sure the teachers know it as well."

"But if they knew that then why wouldn't they just go talk to her?" Ron asked.

"Ron's right" Harry nodded in agreement, "If any of them knew that Myrtle knew something they'd be all over talking to her and they would have found out about the chamber ages ago."

"But why wouldn't Hagrid tell someone?" Hermione wondered aloud.

"He probably has, they probably just didn't listen," Ron spoke the words as Harry walked through the large front door of the castle.

"Ah Harry."

The voice of Remus echoed through the front hall. Harry spotted the professor halfway up the stairs.

"All done all your homework I presume?"

Harry nodded, "I got loads done last night."

"Good, Sirius requested that I floo you home to see him tonight and he'll be delighted to know that your homework is complete and that you can go."

Harry scowled to himself. Of course Remus wouldn't have let him get away with just continuing to avoid his godfather.

"What time?" Harry asked knowing there was no point in making up another excuse.

"How about just before supper, that way you can eat at home with Sirius."

Harry nodded in response as he continued walking, leading Ron and Hermione away from where Remus stood.

"You're still upset with Sirius," Hermione stated once Remus was out of ear shot.

Harry nodded as he and his friends walked up the back staircase, taking the longer route to their common room.

"Honestly Harry he was only upset with you because he cares about you."

"I know that Hermione but you didn't see the way he acted or how he talked to me, I am not a little kid, he should know that."

"That's true," Ron added, "We did fight you know who last year, you deserve more credit."

Hermione shook her head in disagreement. "I know you don't want to hear this Harry but I think Sirius is right in wanting to protect you, if my parents had any idea about half of what went on last year or even this year so far they'd probably pull me out of Hogwarts."

"You're right, I don't want to hear it," Harry replied, "Sirius is being unfair and I'm going to prove him wrong. He wants to think I can't handle the truth then that's fine but I am going to find the chamber and fix things without any help from him."

* * *

Harry reported to Remus' office as directed just moments before he would have been going to the great hall for supper.

Seconds later he stepped into his living room to find his godfather sitting in his armchair with a book.

"Harry," Sirius smiled broadly the moment his godson stepped through the floo. He immediately dropped his book and stood up embracing his godson into a hug.

However Harry hardly hugged him back, his body was stiff.

Sirius noticed this but didn't address it, instead he continued to speak.

"I've made chicken pot pie for dinner; I know how much you love it."

Harry nodded, "Thanks."

Sirius sighed to himself but kept a smile on his face. "Well then let's go eat, are you hungry?"

Harry nodded once more but remained silent as he followed his godfather into the kitchen. He took his normal seat as Sirius placed their supper on the table.

"So tell me," Sirius smiled, "How are your classes going?"

"Fine."

Harry served himself some dinner and then proceeded to keep his eyes on his plate as the questions continued.

"And how is Quidditch."

"Fine."

Harry knew what he was doing. He was being an unruly pre-teen and he was well aware of that. He also knew that his godfather would most likely only let him get away with it for so long but he didn't care, not in the least.

"And how about Ron and Hermione? How are they?"

"Fine."

He heard his godfather sigh. "I know you are upset with me about the other day Harry but you need to understand that I did what I thought was for your best interest."

"Fine." Harry spoke the word and immediately felt ten times braver then he actually was. There was a good chance that Sirius would erupt any moment and for the first time, Harry couldn't have cared less.

"Whether you like it or not you are only a child and it is my job to keep you safe. Now horrible things have been happening at Hogwarts and you have no idea the worry that has consumed me knowing that you are there and that Voldermort could be behind all of this."

Harry didn't respond at all but merely took a bite of his food, keeping his head down, as not to acknowledge his godfather.

"And what is going on is absolutely none of your business, I am aware that Professor McGonagall told your class about the legend of the chamber of secrets but I promise you it is not true, what has been happening most likely has very little to do with the actual chamber and a lot more to do with someone trying and succeeding to scare people."

Once again Harry didn't respond. Sirius didn't even care how he had made him feel, he didn't even apologize. Again, all he was concerned about was reminding Harry that he was just a child.

"And I want you to promise me that you will not go looking for this chamber or anything else that has to do with it."

Harry nodded once but made no effort to speak.

"Look at me please."

Slowly and with as much attitude as he dared, Harry raised his head his eyes meeting his godfathers.

"Promise me Harry."

"I promise," Harry spoke the words without feeling an ounce of guilt about the lie he had just deliberately told.

After supper Harry had told Sirius that he had homework to do and an early Quidditch practice the following day. He didn't miss the sadness in his godfather's eyes as Sirius told him he should probably head back to school again, nor did he miss the look of concern in Remus' when he came back through the floo no less than an hour after he had departed.

"That was quick," Remus noted.

"I have things to do and practice early."

"I know you are mad at Sirius," Remus said gently, "but you have to try and understand it from his point of view, he cares for you a great deal and he is worried."

"He thinks I am just a child," Harry spoke the words and instantly regretted it; he hadn't meant to tell Remus anything.

"You are just a child Harry."

"I am twelve," Harry all but yelled the words, "I am not some sodding six year old, I am the one who took on Voldermort last year, me, with no help from any adult!"

The moment the words left his mouth he regretted them. He had just raised his voice at Remus…Remus who was far stricter than his godfather who had been known to lecture him over his temper and attitude. He was ready for Remus to lecture or yell back or even assign him detention or floo Sirius but Remus did nothing of the sort.

"Oh Harry," his voice was kind and soft, "Don't you see? Don't you understand how guilty Sirius feels about that? About knowing that you took on Voldermort and that you felt you couldn't ask for help? Don't you realize that Sirius wants you to know that you can always ask for help when you need it?"

Harry considered this for a moment before he opened his mouth once more. "No, I don't really see that. All I see is that Sirius thinks of me as some little kid and I'm not, I can take care of myself, I've done it my whole life."

And the moment the words left his mouth, Harry turned and left the office.

**TBC...**


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note: Thank you all SO very much for the kind reviews, some of them literally made me shriek with happiness. This chapter is a little shorter then the previous one but only because I didn't want to leave you with a cliffhanger. **

**Enjoy! And as always feedback is more than appreciated.**

* * *

Harry walked into the common room to find Ron sitting in front of the fireplace.

"Where's Hermione?" He asked.

"Probably in the library, she wasn't at dinner. How was dinner with Sirius?"

"Fine,' Harry said the word for what seemed like the hundredth time that night.

He wanted to tell Ron the truth, explain to him that dinner had been horrible at best, that he had straight out lied to his godfather and then he was rude to Remus, but he couldn't find the words.

Ron opened his mouth to say something but stopped short as George and Fred walked through the portrait.

"There you two are," Fred announced and Harry immediately took note of the worried expression on his face.

"Professor McGonagall is looking for you," George added.

"And we've been looking all over for you," Fred continued.

"Haven't you two heard?" George asked in an exasperated voice.

"Heard what?" Ron jumped up from his seat.

"Hermione...she's been petrified."

* * *

Harry and Ron stood beside her bed starring down at their best friend who looked like a statue.

"I can't believe this happened," Ron stated the obvious as Harry nodded in response.

"Honestly when she wasn't at dinner I just figured she was in the library as always."

Harry nodded once more as he noticed Professor McGonagall as well as Remus and Snape crowded by the entrance to the hospital wing speaking in hushed voices.

"Boys," Remus called out.

Harry looked up to see Remus waving them over.

Harry really didn't want to leave Hermione's side and he could see by the look on Ron's face that he didn't either but the two of them obeyed and slowly walked towards the crowd of teachers.

"Mr. Weasley have you noticed anything different about your sister lately?" McGonagall asked as soon as they approached them,

"Ginny?" Ron questioned. "No, why."

"She is about to be brought up to the hospital wing...she is suffering from dehydration and she is severely depressed."

"Ginny?" Ron repeated her name once more.

"I've noticed," Harry spoke up, "And so did Hermione we thought she was just missing her parents and stressed out."

"Perhaps she is," McGonagall nodded, "However she is going to need to spend a day or two in the hospital wing until she is back to her old self. Your parents are being notified Ronald."

Ron nodded and Harry couldn't help but notice how worried he looked.

"Will she be okay?" Harry asked.

"She will," Remus spoke, "She just needs some rest is all."

* * *

It was late, well after midnight and Harry was wide awake lying in his bed. He couldn't stop thinking about Hermione and Ginny down in the hospital wing. And aside from that he couldn't stop thinking about Sirius and how he truly saw his godson. Harry thought that after what he had done last year with the stone, after living with Sirius for a whole summer that his godson saw him as more than just a child. That maybe he thought Harry was mature for his age or a remarkable wizard for his age but clearly Sirius didn't think any of that. To him, Harry was just some baby that Sirius was in charge of.

And Remus...Remus agreed with him. Harry thought for sure that after Remus had seen him in a classroom doing some of his best defense work that Remus would think highly of him but he just agreed with Sirius.

When he had seen Remus earlier in the hospital wing he had expected him to bring up what had happened earlier or to ask him to his office to speak about it but Remus had done nothing of the sort. He hadn't even brought it up and although Harry didn't really want to talk about it, it made him feel worse that Remus was just letting it slide and Harry wasn't quite sure why that was.

He rolled over onto his side trying to block the image of his best friend, as cold as stone, lying in the hospital wing but it didn't work. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Hermione lying there, her eyes wide with fear, her mouth open widely as if she were mid scream. He hated thinking of her being so afraid just seconds before she was petrified. He hated to think of her alone in the hospital wing.

And Ginny. He hadn't seen her in the hospital wing as he had been sent away before she arrived. Ron had stayed though and when he had returned to the common room his face told Harry plenty, whatever he had seen, hadn't been pretty.

Slowly and quietly he sat up and looked around his dorm. From the sights and sounds of it all his friends were sound asleep and he was thankful for it. Quietly he slipped out of bed and retrieved his cloak as well as the map from his trunk. Slipping out of the room he carefully made his way down the stairs being as quiet as he possibly could.

Once in the common room he tapped the map lightly with his wand.

"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

He searched the map and saw Snape pacing down in his office, Filch patrolling the staircase by the library, and Remus sitting in his office...with Sirius.

Harry blinked angrily at the map. So now Sirius was visiting Hogwarts without so much as telling him?

He pushed the portrait open and quickly headed towards the hospital wing.

He couldn't explain the anger he was feeling. He didn't even want to see Sirius and yet he was so angry at him for being at Hogwarts and not even making Harry aware of the fact. He wished he had the guts to march right down to Remus' office and tell them both exactly how he felt but he knew he couldn't do that. Even in all his anger he knew that doing so would only result in one thing and Harry was not about to end up there tonight.

He carefully pushed the door to the hospital wing open after confirming on the map that Madam Pomfrey was sound asleep in her quarters.

He walked over to where Hermione lay neither awake nor sleeping and once there touched her hand softly.

"I don't know if you can hear me," he whispered, "But I just had to come see you."

She starred back at him, her eyes still wide with fear.

Harry sighed to himself as he felt something in her hand. Slowly he moved her fingers to reveal a small piece of parchment that had been ripped from a textbook. He took it from her and carefully opened it to find textbook writing on one side and a single word on the other, 'pipes."

Shrugging to himself he pushed the piece of parchment into his pocket. In her other hand there was a small mirror, though Harry wasn't quite sure why.

"Harry?" He heard the voice behind him and quickly turned to find Ginny sitting up in her bed.

"Harry is that you?"

He nodded and then quickly whipped the cape off when he realized he was still invisible.

"How did you do that?" Ginny asked.

"It's an invisibility cloak, it was my dad's," Harry explained as he approached her bed.

"Wicked," she muttered smiling.

"How are you feeling?" Harry asked.

Ginny shrugged as the smile quickly vanished from her face, "Not good."

"I'm sorry," Harry replied, "You know if first year is that hard on you, you should talk to someone about it I mean you can always talk to me or Hermione or even Ron."

Harry stopped talking abruptly as a realization dawned on him. This was the most he and the youngest Weasley had ever spoken. For the first time she wasn't blushing all red in front of him or stammering over her words...and it was nice.

"I can't talk to anyone," she said the words with more sadness than Harry thought possible.

"Yes you can, you can always talk to me. I mean I know we've never really talked in the past but we could start."

"You'll hate me," she stated as the tears began to fall down her cheeks, "Everyone will hate me Harry."

"I could never hate you," Harry spoke honestly; "you're Ron's sister."

"No," Ginny shook her head, "Everyone is going to hate me."

"Why?" Harry asked not expecting an answer. It was clear to him that whatever was bothering Ginny was far deeper than missing her parents or the stress of first year. He had never felt so sorry for someone in his life, he had never felt a greater need to help someone either.

"Promise you won't tell anyone?" Ginny asked in a small voice.

Harry nodded quickly. "I do, I promise, I won't tell a soul."

"I mean it, you can't tell my brothers or Sirius or Dumbeldore or anyone."

"I promise Ginny, I really do. You can trust me, I don't break my promises." The moment the words left his mouth he thought of just earlier that night when he had promised Sirius he wouldn't go looking for the chamber or anything else that has to do with it. That was a promise he would be breaking with full consent and knowledge but this was different, whatever Ginny said now he wouldn't tell another person about.

"I opened the chamber," she whispered the words.

Harry could practically feel his eyes bulge out of his head.

"I didn't mean to," she quickly continued the tears running rapidly down her face, "I was just writing in my diary and it wrote back to me and it told me to do it only I didn't know what I was doing. You have to believe me; I really didn't know what I was doing."

"I believe you." And he did.

"I got rid of the diary after Hermione got hurt, I never meant to hurt her or anyone," Ginny sobbed, " Please Harry, you can't tell anyone about this."

"I won't, I promised you that."

Harry stayed with Ginny for a long time. He sat next to her as she drifted off to sleep and continued to sit there as she breathed deeply beside him. As he sat there he weighed his options. He could go to Remus tomorrow or even now and talk to both him and Sirius and explain everything, chances were he might get into some trouble for keeping all of this a secret for as long as he had but then at least the adults would know and they could do something about it all. Or, he could talk to Ron and then they could go talk to Myrtle and find out about the chamber all on their own.

And then there was still Dobby. Hermione had been convinced that the house elf was involved in all of this in some way. He hadn't paid Harry a visit in weeks. When he had been visiting Harry had wanted nothing more than for him to go away forever and now that he was gone Harry wanted nothing more than for him to re-appear.

* * *

"He spoke to you in that way?" Sirius asked in an aggravated voice.

Remus nodded softly, "He is upset Padfoot, surely you can see that."

"I do," Sirius nodded running a hand down his face, "I do see that his is upset but that still gives him absolutely no right..."

"He is a twelve year old boy, that alone give him some right...I'm honestly surprised Harry doesn't have more attitude then he does considering how much attitude James had at twelve."

Sirius thought back to when he and his friends had been twelve. It was true James did have a bit more of the teenage attitude then Harry had but still Sirius expected better of his godson and he was surprised Remus didn't as well.

"I don't think he is still completely used to having people that care for him and want to keep him safe," Remus continued, "I think he is still very used to doing everything for himself and therefore feels he still has to do so."

"He lived with me for an entire summer and I made it very clear to him that he is to concern himself entirely with being a child."

"I'm sure you did however one summer does not make up for eleven years."

Sirius sighed as he thought this over. It was true that his godson had been looking after him self almost his entire life, however, Sirius still thought they were past that.

"You don't think he's going to do something foolish and go looking for the chamber, do you Mooney?"

"Oh I absolutely do," Remus nodded.

"And I'm to sit here and do nothing about it?!"

"What would you like to do? What can you do? Aside from pulling Harry out of Hogwarts or punishing him for something he hasn't even done yet what can you honestly do Sirius? All we can do is keep an extra close eye on him and pray that I am wrong and that Harry isn't thinking of doing anything wrong at all."

"That's not bloody likely," Sirius groaned.

* * *

Harry yawned loudly as he sat in the great hall eating breakfast. He had gotten very little sleep the night before and in a few moments he was expected to be on the Quidditch pitch for what he was sure would be a dreadful practice considering the rain that was beating against the windows.

He yawned once more as Ron helped himself to more eggs.

"I have to go visit Ginny after this, I hope she is okay."

Harry hadn't told Ron about visiting with Ginny the night before, he had only mentioned that he had snuck out to see Hermione and that he had retrieved the piece of parchment from her cold hand. He had promised Ginny he wouldn't tell anyone what she had told him and he intended on keeping that promise, even if it meant keeping it from Ron.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Harry yawned once more, "She just needs lots of rest, you heard what Remus said."

"And she was asleep last night?" Ron asked.

Harry nodded, "Sound asleep."

Ron sighed, "You should have woken me up, I would have gone with you."

"I'm sorry," Harry replied, "I didn't even think to do that."

Ron shrugged, "Its okay. What time is your practice over?"

"By noon, I hope," Harry replied, "And then we seriously have to talk." He quickly lowered his voice, "We have to figure this all out."

Ron nodded as he shoved the last of his eggs into his mouth.

* * *

As Harry predicted practice went horribly. It was raining much too hard to see anything let alone the tiny snitch and Harry nearly fell off of his broom twice due to the fact that he was fighting just to keep his eyes open. Finally after two hours of torture Angelina called the practice over and Harry quickly returned to the ground.

After showering and changing he quickly made his way towards the hospital wing to find Remus standing just outside the entrance.

"There you are," Remus smiled, "I've been looking for you."

"I was at practice."

"In this weather? I thought for sure it would be cancelled."

"It ended early," Harry replied.

Remus was happy, smiling widely, a twinkle in his eye. Usually Remus' happiness was contagious like a bad cold, Harry couldn't help but to be in a happy mood whenever he was around him but today it was the opposite effect. Harry had pulled more attitude with Remus yesterday then he ever dared to in the past and Remus still hadn't said a thing about it. Harry wasn't sure why but this was angering him more and more.

"Splendid! I was just about to head to Hogsmeade to pick up some things and Sirius was going to meet me there for lunch, we'd love for you to join us."

Harry felt his anger rising through him in an uncontrollable manner.

"No thank you."

"No thank you? More homework to do?"

"No," Harry answered honestly, "I want to visit with Hermione and Ginny."

"Hermione will be in the same state when we return and Ginny is doing very well, she may even be out of the hospital wing by the time we get back," Remus smiled.

"By the time you get back," Harry corrected the man with some attitude, "I don't want to go."

Remus took a deep breath as he willed himself not to lose his temper. "Harry…Sirius would really like to see you."

"No," Harry replied, "I don't want to go."

"I thought you would have jumped at the chance to go to Hogsmeade," Remus tried a different approach.

"You thought wrong," Harry said with as much attitude as he dared to use towards Remus.

"What in Merlin's name has gotten into you Harry James?" Remus had had enough. All his talk the previous night about Harry's attitude steming from his being upset left Remus' mind. All the talk about harry feeling as if he still had to take care of himself seemed a million miles away. At this moment all that Remus was aware of was how rude this twelve year old was being, and not just any twelve year old but James' son.

"Nothing has gotten in to me I just don't want to go, and why do you care?" Harry replied, his attitude still very evident with every word he spoke.

Out of the corner of his eye Harry noticed Mrs. Weasley as well as Ginny glancing in their direction but when he turned to look at them they both quickly looked away, obviously feeling awkward about what they were witnessing.

Remus took a deep breath before he spoke once more and Harry could see the anger written all over his face.

"Your attitude has just bought you detention with me tonight young man."

"That isn't fair!" Harry all but yelled.

"It is more than fair, I expect you in my office directly after supper. You will be writing lines for me however if you continue with this charade I can easily turn it into detention tonight and tomorrow night as well."

Harry turned and began to walk away. Ron was probably in the common room and that's exactly where he was headed but he couldn't stop himself from muttering one last line before Remus was completely out of his ear shot.

"Do whatever you want."

Remus raised an eyebrow as he heard the words. His first instinct was to go grab the boy take him down to his office, floo his godfather, and tell Sirius exactly how he had just behaved and spoken. Remus could guess how that would go though. With the attitude Harry was sporting it would only turn his office into a screaming match and Sirius would most likely only lose his temper if Harry's attitude persisted in his presence. His only other option was to assign another night's worth of detention but somehow that didn't seem right to Remus either. No, tonight when Harry reported to his office they were going to talk and they were going to figure out exactly what the problem was here.

Harry stomped into the common room feeling absolutely miserable with the world. Not even twenty minutes earlier all he wanted was for Remus to stop letting things slide and now Remus had done so and he was still miserable. It would have been so easy for him to just accept Remus' invitation and go to Hogsmeade with him and Sirius and act as if nothing was wrong, but Harry just couldn't bring himself to do it. Never had he thought it would be possible to be so angry with his godfather, and yet, here he was.

**TBC...**


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note: You all have been too kind with all the reviews and adds I've been recieving, thank you so much, I appreciate it more than you'll ever know. As long as my classes stay as easy as they've been expect me to continue updating as fast as I've been.**

**Enjoy this chapter and as always feedback is appreciated.**

**Mira**

* * *

"I want you to be aware Sirius that your godson has a detention with me this evening." Remus spoke the words calmly as he stirred his tea.

"I'm scared to ask why."

Remus looked up at Sirius expecting to see a grin but indeed Sirius did look scared. It wasn't a secret that for Harry to land himself in detention with Remus he would have had to do something beyond a simple infraction. Remus was kind to all his students and rarely handed out detentions but he couldn't help but have favorites and although he tried not to show it, Sirius knew his godson was at the top of that list. Yes, for Harry to have detention with Remus he must have really crossed the line.

"I invited him to come with us today and he refused, which would have been fine, but his attitude over the matter could not go unlooked."

"His attitude? I thought you said that we were lucky his attitude wasn't worse. I thought you said he was just hurting," Sirius spoke the words in a manner that clearly screamed; 'I told you so.'

"He is hurting; it's very obvious that with what is going on around school and Hermione's given state Harry is hurting immensely."

"What did he say to you?"

"Oh just the normal teenage rebellious things...I threatened him with detention tomorrow night as well and as he was walking away he muttered that I could do whatever I please or something along those lines."

Remus watched his friends face change to a very stern appearance.

"I have half a mind to..."

"He's serving detention for his actions and I intend on having quite the talk with him tonight as well."

"You know you are practically an uncle to him Mooney, you do whatever you think is best."

"I do think he could benefit from some tough love at the moment...perhaps he is just looking for attention."

"If he doesn't shape up he is going to get all the attention in the world from me and he isn't going to like it either."

Remus sighed as he took a long swallow of his tea before replying. "I'm hopeful that he will talk to me tonight and we'll be able to work some of this out."

"Floo me as soon as you're done, sooner if you need to."

* * *

"So tonight we'll go talk to Myrtle," Ron declared as he and Harry began to eat their dessert.

Harry sighed as he remembered the events of this morning, "I can't, I have detention."

"Snape?"

"Remus."

Ron's eye's nearly popped out of his head, "How'd you get detention with Remus?"

Harry quickly filled his friend in on everything that had happened that morning and as he did Ron's eyes grew bigger if possible.

"I could always just skip it though," Harry pondered aloud.

"Are you mental?" Ron asked, "You flipped out on Remus like that and now you are seriously thinking about skipping his detention?"

Harry shrugged, "What could he do?"

"Floo Sirius, tell Dumbeldore, give you detention for the rest of the school year," Ron listed Remus' options as he added some whipped cream to his slice of pie.

"I don't care," Harry replied as he took a bit of his own slice of pie.

"Yes you do," Ron said in a kind voice, "I know you're mad at Sirius and I don't mean to sound like Hermione but you do care and if you don't now you will later when everyone is going mental about you skipping detention."

Harry looked up at his red headed friend. Ron never ceased to amaze him. For someone who could at times be so immature he had a way of always saying the exact right thing at the exact right moment.

"I guess you're right," Harry finally sighed.

Ron nodded as he took a huge bite of his pie, "You have to try this with whipped cream Harry, I'm telling you its fantastic.

* * *

Harry knocked once on the Defense classroom door. He may have taken Ron's advice and gone to his detention but he had also taken an extra long time eating. Remus had left the great hall almost thirty minutes ago and to Harry making a piece of pie last for thirty minutes was some kind of personal victory.

"Come in."

Harry couldn't help but notice that Remus' voice was very even, not mad or happy and he wasn't sure how he felt about that or what to expect.

He pushed the door open to see Remus sitting at his desk his head bent over a pile of work.

"Have a seat please Harry." Remus spoke the words without even looking up.

Harry saw a desk with a pile of parchment as well as a quill sitting on it and figured that it was meant for him and so he sat there as opposed to his normal seat, three over and two back.

"What would you like me to write?" He asked as he sat.

"We'll get to that in a moment," Remus replied and then paused as he wrote something down before dropping his quill and raising his head to look at the young man before him, "First I think you and I should talk." In all honesty though, Remus was hoping they'd never get to the writing lines, if Harry spoke to him and opened up to him his plan was to call the detention off after their talk.

Harry starred at Remus not speaking nor giving any inclination that he had just heard the words Remus had said.

"It is very obvious from your recent actions that you are upset with both Sirius and myself and I would like to know why."

Still Harry starred silently.

"I expect an answer young man," Remus continued in a stern voice, "Just what was today all about?"

"I just didn't want to go to Hogsmeade."

"And it is absolutely fine if you did not, however, your attitude was not fine. It has been going on for some time now and I want to know what has brought it on."

"I don't want to talk about it." There was no denying the exact attitude that Remus was referring too seeping through Harry's words.

"I don't recall asking if you did."

"You can't make me talk about something I don't want to talk about," Harry dared, "I am here to write lines not talk."

"You are here for a detention Harry James and you are dangerously close to getting yourself into more trouble then you are already in. Now I am going to ask you once more, where is this attitude coming from? And Merlin help you if you answer me with an attitude."

Harry kept his mouth shut as he turned his head and looked away from his favorite Professor.

He heard Remus sigh. "I am trying to help you Harry I know that you must be hurting over the things that have been happening around this school, I'm sure Hermione being petrified has only added to your hurt but I cannot help you if you won't allow me to do so."

"I'm not hurting," Harry declared in a firm voice as he continued to look away.

"Now I don't believe that for a moment," Remus replied in a sad voice.

"Believe whatever you want but I'm not," Harry replied turning his head quickly back to Remus, "And you can do or say whatever you want but I'm not going to talk about anything because I don't want to."

Remus' mouth set in a firm line.

"For the duration of your detention you will write, 'I will learn to control my attitude and respect my teachers.'

Harry picked up the quill. "How many times?"

"What part of for the duration of your detention did you not understand?"

"Fine," Harry replied angrily as he bent his head over and began to write.

The clock ticked loudly in the quiet room. Several times Harry had stolen a glance up at Remus to see him bent over his pile of papers making marks here and there.

His hand ached, he had been writing for over an hour now and he wondered how much longer Remus would keep him. He wouldn't dare ask though.

He knew Remus well enough to know that everything that had happened today would be told to Sirius. And Harry knew Sirius well enough to know exactly what the result of that could very well be. A very small part of Harry was dreading his godfather arriving at Hogwarts ready to put him over his knee for the way he had been acting, but only a very small part. The rest of him was consumed with too much anger and hurt to really care. The rest of him half hoped Sirius would show up just so that he could have another reason to be angry with him.

After two hours Harry stopped writing for a moment to flex his hand and he prayed Remus didn't notice. Seconds later he picked up his quill once more. He was glad he had gotten in a nap before supper as he never could seem to spell things correctly when he was tired and he was sure that if he handed Remus some sloppy paper the results wouldn't be pleasant.

Just when Harry was sure his hand was going to fall off after two and a half hours of nonstop writing he heard Remus clear his throat.

"That will do."

Showing no feelings over the matter, Harry abruptly set the quill down picked up the pages he had written and delivered them to Remus' desk. Once he had done so he quickly turned around and headed for the door.

"I hope you have learned something here tonight Harry, your attitude reflects the person you are and I know that who you have been lately is not who you truly are."

Harry had paused as Remus spoke but the moment he stopped he continued for the door.

"I love you Harry and so does Sirius...I hope you know that."

Harry paused with one hand on the door.

"Goodnight Professor," he said stiffly.

And with that he pushed open the door and left.

* * *

Harry walked into the common room to find Ron sitting in an armchair. Harry was surprised by how empty the room was and then he remembered that he had been in detention for forever and that everyone was probably asleep already or close to it.

"How's Ginny?" Harry asked the moment he saw his best mate.

"She's brilliant, out of the hospital wing and upstairs asleep in her bed."

"That's great!" Harry smiled.

"Yeah," Ron smiled back, "How was detention?"

"Long and boring," Harry replied as he flopped down onto the couch, "He made me write lines."

Ron made a face as he shifter himself in the chair and swung his feet over the arm. "Charlie is coming to the Quidditch game tomorrow."

"He is?"

"Well he's coming to see Ginny, he couldn't get away from work until tomorrow and then Fred told him about the game so he is going to come to that too."

"Wicked," Harry smiled.

"Is Sirius coming to the game?" Ron asked.

Harry thought back to the first game of the season when he had caught the snitch and then seen Sirius cheering him on from the stands. He remembered what a great feeling that had been, to finally have a family member there to watch him play. And then he remembered how Sirius had been acting lately and how angry he was with him.

"I don't know and I don't care."

Ron sighed and Harry could tell the red head wanted to say more about it but he didn't, instead Ron changed the subject. "We should go talk to Myrtle after the game."

Harry nodded in agreement, "Yeah we will, right after the game."

* * *

Remus stepped through the floo to find an empty living room however the sounds coming from the kitchen told him exactly where to find his old friend.

"Sirius," he called out as he walked through the living room and down the hall.

"In here Mooney."

Remus walked into the kitchen to find Sirius sitting at the table, an empty cup of tea in front of him.

"There's still some in the kettle, help yourself."

Remus remained silent as he fixed himself a cup of tea. The entire time Harry sat in detention he had gone over and over what he would say to Sirius. After all Sirius was his oldest friend and being so Remus did feel that they could discuss anything but at the same time Remus was also aware that Sirius was very protective of his godson as he should be. Sirius loved Harry with everything he had in him and although earlier Sirius had agreed that Harry's attitude was getting to be a bit much, Remus still didn't want to present what had happened tonight in anyway that would make his friend defensive over the subject.

"I'm assuming by your silence that tonight didn't go well?"

Remus sighed to himself. The curse of dear, old friends...they could read your actions almost too well.

"Harry refused to speak with me at all." Remus replied careful to keep his tone an even one.

"What do you mean he refused?"

"I asked him to explain his attitude as of late and he told me he didn't want to talk about it and that I couldn't make him. I also tried to talk to him about how he has been hurting and he claims he isn't hurting at all. He actually had quite the attitude about it all"

Sirius sighed as he ran a hand down his face. "I just don't even know what to do about this. If he wouldn't talk to you he surely isn't going to talk to me."

"I beg your pardon?" Remus asked in pure shock, "Harry respects and listens to you far more than anyone else Padfoot."

Sirius raised an eyebrow at this statement, "No offense Mooney, but you are far more strict then I could ever be and Harry knows that. I am sure that if he had the gall to cop an attitude with you, he'll go far beyond that with me."

"And that may be true, however, he is a twelve year old boy and how he is acting and the way he is speaking to people is completely unacceptable."

Sirius nodded in agreement, "It is I'm not disagreeing with you but I can't force him to tell me what is bothering him and I'm certainly not going to beat it out of him."

"I'm not implying that you do," Remus replied in a hurt voice.

"No, I know you aren't I just I don't know what to do I can't ground him until he is ready to talk, I can't make him talk...all I can do is be here when he is ready to talk and punish him as I see fit for his attitude when he has one. Speaking of which…do I dare ask what you made him do for his detention tonight?"

"He wrote lines, 'I will learn to control my attitude and respect my teachers' ...I have to admit I was close to losing it on the boy several times but I figured if he wanted to be tough then he could have some tough love, he wrote for over two hours."

Sirius winced at this before cracking a small smile, "That is tough Mooney he's probably nursing his hand right now."

"Perhaps but perhaps it taught him something about his attitude as well."

* * *

Harry mounted his broom and soared high into the air. Looking down he immediately spotted both Sirius and Remus sitting together. He and Sirius locked eyes for a moment and Sirius waved but Harry quickly looked away.

There Sirius went treating him like some baby again, as if he was going to wave to his godfather from his broom in front of the entire school.

The game lasted longer than normal and when Harry finally spotted the snitch he soared after it at lightning speed. Finally after several long moments Harry grasped the snitch in his hand and held it up high for everyone to see.

"And Harry Potter has caught the snitch once again," Lee Jordan announced, "Gryffindor wins!"

The crowd erupted into cheers as Harry landed on the ground.

After a quick shower Harry walked back into the common room to find Fred and George Weasley sitting on the couch.

"Have either of you seen Ron?"

"He's visiting Hermione," George replied.

"And Sirius was looking for you after the game," Fred added.

Harry thanked the twins and quickly headed for the hospital wing. Once there he found it completely empty of visitors aside from Ron and he was thankful for that.

"Hey," Harry said softly as he approached Hermione's bed.

"Hey…I just wanted to come see her real quick, make sure she's okay and all you know?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah I know."

"Madam Pomfrey said that Professor Sprout said that the mandrakes should be ready real soon and then they can fix her."

Harry nodded, "That's really good."

"I miss her Harry."

Harry looked at his best friend and saw the worry in his eyes. "I do too but she'll be fine, she'll be better than fine...Hermione is tough."

"Yeah," Ron nodded sadly.

"Hey," Harry smiled, "She wouldn't want us to be like this...she would want us to figure this all out...you ready to go talk to Myrtle?"

"Yeah...yeah let's go. We have to be quick though, I told Charlie we'd eat dinner with him."

"Wicked."

* * *

Quickly and quietly he and Ron raced through the corridors. Harry was sure that Sirius was still around the castle somewhere and the last thing he needed was to get caught going into the girls lavatory, he had no idea how he would explain that one.

He and Ron looked up and down the hallway frantically before pushing the door to the girl's lavatory open.

"Myrtle?" Harry called out.

The moment the words left his mouth the young ghost flew up over the stall and stopped inches from his face.

"Harry Potter," Myrtle smiled, "I was beginning to think you'd never come visit me again."

"I'm sorry we didn't come sooner," Harry replied, "But things have been happening...people have been petrified, our friend Hermione is one of them."

Harry watched as Myrtle's expression changed. "So you've come to hear my story?"

"If you'll tell us," Harry replied hoping she would.

Myrtle smiled brightly, "No one ever wants to hear my story." She floated through the air and perched herself high on top of one of the stalls. "I tried to tell that little girl that came in here yesterday but she just threw a book at me."

"A book?" Harry immediately played dumb though he knew exactly which girl and which book Myrtle was referring too.

Myrtle nodded as she disappeared for a moment only to reappear with Ginny's diary.

"Hey that's my sisters!" Ron spoke loudly,

"You can have it," Myrtle smiled sweetly, "There's nothing written in it...just a name."

She floated down towards Ron and handed him the book.

"So will you tell us your story?" Harry asked once more as Myrtle went back to her seat.

"Who is Tom Riddle?" Ron asked as he flipped through the diary.

"Do you want to hear my story or not?" Myrtle asked and the anger in her voice was evident.

"We want to hear it," Harry nodded as he quickly crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bathtub motioning for Ron to join him.

Myrtle's face brightened back up instantly. "I died right here in this bathroom you know, it was dreadful, simply dreadful. I was hiding because Olive Hornsby was teasing me about my glasses. I was sitting in this very stall," she pointed down below her, "I was crying and I heard someone come in and then they started talking which was odd because they were speaking a different language and they were a boy so I opened the stall to tell them to use their own toilet and then I died."

"But how?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Myrtle said in a mysterious voice, "I just remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes and then I was dead. I floated away but then I came back to haunt Olive."

"The eyes were right in front of you?" Harry asked.

Myrtle shook her pig tailed head, "No over there by the sinks."

Harry got up from his seat and walked towards the sinks that Myrtle had motioned to. He inspected them for a moment but they just looked like ordinary sinks to him.

"We've got to get to dinner," Ron noted from his seat on the bath tub.

Harry sighed as he walked back over towards Ron. "Thanks for telling us your story Myrtle we'll come back soon okay?"

The ghost smiled in a flirty manner, "Come back very soon please."

Harry and Ron were halfway to the great hall when Ron stopped dead in his tracks,

"I forgot Ginny's journal."

"We'll get it later no one ever goes in there anyway," Harry replied causing Ron to nod in agreement and continue walking.

* * *

Dinner was an event with Charlie there. He entertained Ron and Harry with stories of his days at Hogwarts and of course on the Quidditch pitch. It was late when Harry and Ron finally said their goodbyes to him and headed back up to their dormitory.

By the time Harry changed for bed Ron was already sound asleep, snoring peacefully. After quickly glancing around Harry realized that he was the only one awake and he took advantage of that fact. Reaching into his trunk he retrieved his map and after tapping it once took note of where his teachers were and that wasn't all he took note of either. Dumbeldore was not in the building, however Sirius still was.

Sirius Black's dot was pacing Remus' office as Remus' dot stayed still.

Harry scowled to himself, he hadn't seen either of them in the great hall and although he really hadn't wanted to it still made him mad that he hadn't.

His eyes skimmed across the map and stopped on a dot labeled Hermione Granger lying in the hospital wing.

Carefully and quietly he reached into his trunk and retrieved his cloak, throwing it over his head.

Harry sat next to Hermione's bed holding her hand and wishing with all his might that she would wake up. He knew if she did, things would go back to normal. She would be able to tell them all about the monster and help them capture it before it was too late. He was sure she had answers for everything, but unfortunately she wasn't there.

Then from behind him he heard a pop.

Turning quickly he saw the small house elf he had wanted to talk to for days.

"Dobby!" He yelled in a whisper.

"Harry Potter Sir," the house elf bowed.

"Where have you been? And what is going on here? People are getting hurt and there is some monster? Is this why you told me not to come back to Hogwarts?"

The house elf nodded sadly, "Dobby tried to stop you Harry Potter, Dobby never imagined Harry Potter and his friend would fly a car."

A realization suddenly hit Harry.

"**You** made the barrier seal itself?"

Dobby nodded softly, "Dobby was trying to protect Harry Potter."

"Protect me? I almost got killed! Do you know how much trouble I got into for that?"

Dobby nodded softly once more, "Dobby knows all."

Harry felt his face grow warm and he was thankful for the dark hospital wing as it was protecting his modesty.

"Harry Potter can not go into the Chamber of Secrets, Dobby cannot allow it."

"Do you see my best friend here? She is petrified because of whatever is in that chamber and the adults don't even believe there is a chamber!"

"Some adults do Harry Potter."

Harry sighed sadly, "Not enough of them."

"Dobby cannot let Harry Potter get hurt," the house elf said sadly and then he was gone.

"Dobby," Harry hissed hoping to call him back,

"Who is that?"

Harry heard the familiar voice of Severus Snape and felt his blood run cold. He quickly picked up his cloak and threw it over his head backing away from Hermione's bed.

Seconds later Snape appeared in the doorway.

"I know someone is in here, hiding will do you no good, come out and show yourself."

Holding his breath Harry moved slowly towards the door. At just the right moment Snape walked further into the hospital wing giving Harry ample time to run out the door. And run he did for all of about ten seconds before he heard Snape yell.

"Not so fast Potter!"

Harry felt his body being sucked backwards and then he stopped abruptly at Snape's feet.

"Roaming the castle this late at night Potter?" Snape hissed as he whipped the cloak off of Harry. "I should take you straight to the Headmaster but luckily for you he is not here, however, your godfather is."

**TBC...**


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Note: Two updates in one day! I just found out earlier tonight that my school has joined the list of the ones that have offically closed for a few days due to the swine flu. I am offically on vacation from school until Friday at the very earliest and my mom is having a heart attack over this and will hardly let me out of the house because she is convinced I'm going to get sick too...so expect speedy updates. **

**Thank you all SO very much for all the reviews and adds. You guys are the absolute best and I love you for it. I actually wanted an opinion on something as well. I get a lot of emails with questions about this story and I was thinking of making a livejournal or something to do kind of like a FAQ and just to update on occasion...so if you'd be interested in something like that, please let me know.**

**Enjoy the chapter! And as always feedback is more than appreciated.**

* * *

Severus Snape was fuming as he pushed open the door to Remus' office and all but threw Harry into the room.

"Harry?" Sirius' voice was confused.

"Severus what is the meaning of this?" Remus asked his voice very even.

"I discovered Mr. Potter wandering the halls under this," Snape replied angrily as he held the cloak out.

Harry immediately snatched it from his hands. "I wasn't wandering the halls, I was visiting Hermione."

"Regardless of what he was or wasn't doing you must agree that this is not the time for him or anyone to be breaking important school rules and wandering around in the middle of the night," Snape continued.

"No, it is not," Remus agreed and Harry scowled at him.

"I was not wandering!"

"Thank you for bringing him here Severus," Sirius finally spoke, "I can handle it from here."

Harry looked at his godfather for the first time since being escorted through the door and he immediately noticed the anger, disappointment, and sadness on the man's face though he wasn't quite sure if he cared about it at all. A small part of him felt more than horrible about being the reason that Sirius looked like he did but unfortunately a larger part of him had been so consumed with anger for the past few days that he now didn't know how to get past it.

Harry watched as Snape turned and left the room, closing the door hardly behind him and then it was quiet for several long moments. Harry watched as Remus eyed Sirius waiting for something as Harry was as well, but Sirius didn't deliver.

"What in the world were you doing out of bed at this hour?" Remus asked in a dangerously low voice. "With everything going on don't you realize how dangerous what you have done is? Don't you realize that people are being petrified left and right and to be roaming around the castle in the middle of the night is just asking for trouble?"

"I was just visiting Hermione," Harry answered with as much attitude as he dared.

"You are well aware of when the visiting hours are and you are also well aware that it is completely against the school rules to be out of bed well after midnight roaming the halls."

"I wasn't roaming the halls!" Harry yelled the words.

"That is enough!" Sirius finally spoke in a low voice that made Harry's blood run absolutely cold.

Harry looked as his godfather and immediately regretted it. Sirius was starring at him in a way that Harry could only compare to the last time he had been in trouble. He was looking as he had when he had flown the car.

"Start explaining right now Harry," Sirius demanded his look not changing.

"I already told you, I was just visiting Hermione." The look on Sirius' face scared Harry enough to keep his attitude at bay and his temper in check.

"Why were you visiting her in the middle of the night? You know you should be in your bed or at the very least your dormitory. You know better then this Harry James."

The words stung Harry in a way he didn't think possible. Or maybe it wasn't the words as much as the person from which the words were coming. As angry as he had been with Sirius over the past few days he couldn't help but feel embarrassed about his actions as Sirius told him he knew better, as Sirius called him by his full name. He had been so angry at Sirius for treating him like a child, for making him feel like a child and yet Sirius scolding him in this way, like a child, made him forget about it all.

"I wanted to see her," Harry tried to explain, "I was worried about her...I miss her."

Sirius sighed as Remus smiled softly.

"I know you miss her Harry and I know this has been hard on you but it's not okay for you to just go see her in the middle of the night," Sirius spoke the words as his face softened, "Not only is that breaking school rules under normal terms but with everything that has been going on it's putting yourself in danger as well."

Harry looked at his godfather as panic took over his body. He knew the punishment for putting himself in danger...he knew it all too well and he prayed that Sirius wasn't going to spank him. Not now, not with everything going on, and especially not with Remus there as well.

"I'm sorry Sirius, I just...I guess I wasn't thinking. I really miss her and I was worried about her and I figured with my cloak I could go see her and it wouldn't be too big of a deal, I really am sorry."

"You have to try and understand Pup," Sirius explained, "Most of the teachers are convinced that Voldermort is behind everything that has been going on lately and I'm incline to agree with them, a student can't be attacking people and a teacher wouldn't, so Voldermort is the next likely option and for you to be walking around the castle while everyone is asleep is not acceptable. Every teacher in this school is working to keep you safe and you absolutely cannot make their job harder then it already is. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded once. "I understand."

And he did. He understood everything his godfather had said though he didn't agree with it all. A student had opened the chamber and petrified people, that student had been Ginny a little first year girl that no one would ever in a million years suspect but Harry kept his mouth shut. As willing as he was to overlook the anger he had been feeling and as willing as he was to lose his attitude he was not willing to go back on his word to Ginny and he was not willing to tell Sirius or anyone about everything he, Ron, and Hermione had pieced together about the Chamber. He was determined to prove to everyone, but especially Sirius that he wasn't some dumb kid, that he could take care of himself, and so everything he knew about the Chamber would remain a secret and he and Ron would take care of it all.

Remus cleared his throat. "As I told you earlier Harry, we love you and we just want to keep you safe...you must know that and as Sirius said, in order to keep you safe we need your help."

Harry nodded once more.

"I absolutely do not want to hear of you out of your dormitory in the middle of the night again, understood?" Sirius asked in a stern voice.

"Understood," Harry replied softly, "I'm sorry."

Sirius smiled, "You are forgiven." The words left his mouth and then his face turned stern once more, "And for your punishment..."

"I said I was sorry!" Harry interrupted in a voice dangerously close to a whine.

"And you are very much forgiven, however, that doesn't change the fact that you broke the rules and for your punishment you are grounded from your broom for the next week including from Quidditch practice, you can just explain to your teammates that you can't attend practice this week."

"But that's not fair!" Harry's voice was a full whine now.

"I think it's very fair, however, if you disagree we can always go back to the usual punishment for putting your life in danger."

Harry quickly shook his head at his godfather's threat and stern demeanor. "No Sir."

Sirius nodded, "It's late, I'll walk you back to your dormitory."

Once in the hallway Sirius walked beside Harry back to the Gryffindor tower.

"I'm sorry you've been so worried about everything that has been happening lately Pup and I know that your worry has a lot to do with your recent attitude but you need to learn to control it regardless of your worry."

"I know" Harry sighed as they rounded a corner, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright but in the future if I were you I'd watch myself as far as Remus is concerned, he loves you and cares for you very much, but I'm not sure he'll put up with very much more disobedience from you and he has my full permission to punish you as he sees fit."

Harry blushed involuntarily at his godfather's words.

"Should I go apologize to him?"

"I think that is a very good idea," Sirius smiled as the two stopped in front of the portrait of the fat lady.

"I'll do it tomorrow," Harry yawned.

"Good and I want you to know that I'm always here for you Harry. If you are feeling upset or stressed out or anything you can always come talk to me and if you don't want to floo home and talk in person there is always the mirror or you can write to me, just please don't give me attitude and shut me out...that hurts Pup."

"I'm sorry," Harry replied softly, "I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just so confused and mixed up."

"It's okay," Sirius smiled gently, "You don't have to keep apologizing I just don't want you to think that you ever have to handle things all on your own."

_'All on my own'_, Harry thought, _'I love you Sirius but that's exactly how I'm going to handle it and then you'll see I'm not just some little kid.'_

But Harry didn't say any of this out loud; instead he yawned once more and gave a simple nod in reply.

"Goodnight Pup," Sirius smiled, "I love you."

"I love you too," Harry replied before he turned to wake the fat lady.

He was just about to open his mouth and wake her to tell her the password when he felt a very hard smack thunder down on his backside.

"Hey!" He turned around with an accusing glare on his face, "That hurt!"

"Did it now?" Sirius asked.

Harry nodded as his hand involuntarily reached around to rub his smarting bottom.

"Then let it be a reminder to you to keep yourself out of trouble and to not put yourself into danger, got it?"

Harry sighed, "I got it."

"I love you Harry, now go and get some sleep."

* * *

Sirius walked back into Remus' office to find his friend grinning like a madman.

"What is that look for?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing at all. You handled yourself very well with Harry tonight Padfoot."

Sirius returned the smile as he took a seat on the small couch. "He makes it easy."

"Is that what you call it? He was caught wandering through the castle in the middle of the night! I expected you to lose your temper the moment you saw him."

"I expected to as well," Sirius admitted, "When he yelled at you I thought for sure I was going to but something told me he didn't need that tonight and I think I was right."

"You were more than right, Harry finally admitted he was worried and for the first time in days he lost his attitude problem. I told you that you would be able to set him straight and you were so sure he wouldn't care what you said."

Sirius smiled at these words he had to admit he had had his doubts but it did seem that the moment he scolded his godson he snapped right out of his unruly behavior and Sirius was more than grateful for that, the last thing he had wanted was to have things go a step further.

"I feel that after tonight we will see an immensely huge change in Harry's behavior as well as his attitude."

Sirius smiled at his oldest friend as he said a silent prayer that the man was right.

* * *

Harry tossed and turned in his bed for a long time after he left Sirius. He couldn't understand how he could be so angry at Sirius for days and then after just a few words from his godfather's mouth it could all just evaporate. Even after being grounded from his broom and the one very hard smack Sirius had delivered, Harry still wasn't feeling angry with the man at all. It was if there had been a shift in his emotions and instead of being mad about it, he was happy that someone cared enough to do something.

He sighed as he rolled over onto his side. Ron was breathing heavily across from him. If he had any idea the things Ginny had told him though, Harry guessed he wouldn't be sleeping as comfortably.

Since Ginny had made her confession there had been several moments where Harry was very tempted to tell Ron everything. He couldn't bring himself to do it though. He knew that he was probably wrong, that Ginny's secret was probably one he shouldn't keep, however, something had changed between Ginny and himself when she had told him and he didn't want to hurt that change.

Harry had been close to the Weasley's from the moment he met them. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had immediately treated him as one of their own and Ron's siblings had instantly taking a liking to him as well. Ginny was different though. She had never really spoke to Harry before the other night and Harry liked that they had developed some kind of bond and didn't want to hurt it in anyway and he was positive that telling her secret would do more than hurt it, it would destroy it and he wasn't about to let that happen. Besides as long as he and Ron solved this mystery soon, no one would ever have to find out Ginny's involvement in it.

* * *

Harry was halfway to the great hall the following morning for breakfast when he saw Ginny sitting on a windowsill by herself. She looked sad and although Harry's stomach was grumbling and although he knew Ron would be wondering where he was he slowly walked over to her.

"Hey," he said softly sitting down next to her, "You okay?"

She shook her head as her long red locks swayed but said nothing.

Harry sighed luckily the halls were deserted and so he felt it okay to really talk to her.

"I haven't told anyone about...you know."

"I know you haven't," she whispered, "Thank you."

"And I won't, you know that right?"

She nodded softly as a tear made its way down her cheek.

"Hey don't cry," Harry replied in a gentle voice, "It'll all be okay."

"No it won't, it never will...he made me hurt people Harry, he made me hurt them all and I didn't even want to, I don't even remember doing it."

"Who? Who made you?"

"Tom Riddle," she said the name as if it were a curse word, "He made me open the Chamber and hurt people."

"Where is the Chamber?" Harry asked, "If you know where it is maybe it can help."

"I don't know I don't know where it is and I don't know how to open it, I just know I did."

"Like you were possessed or something?"

"Yes! Exactly!" Ginny replied as a whole stream of tears made their way down her small face.

"Then it isn't your fault and no one will ever know, I promised I wouldn't tell and I won't but if you didn't now what you were doing it really isn't your fault."

Ginny nodded softly as she brushed away her tears, "Thank you Harry...for everything."

* * *

Harry walked out of astronomy class hours later with Ron by his side.

"You would think that with everything going on classes would be cancelled," Ron complained as the two made their way down the staircase.

"Would they cancel classes or would they just send us all home?"

Ron shrugged, "Dunno but either would be better then actually going to class I can't believe we are expected to study the moons while Hermione is lying in a bed like a statue. I bet you anything the minute they wake her up she'll complain about all the classes she has missed."

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at this. It was the first time they had discussed Hermione without being sad about her current state and Ron was probably right in his assumption too, Harry could totally picture their best friend waking up and being simply heartbroken about missing all the classes she had.

"Hey speaking of Hermione," Harry quickly looked around to make sure no one was listening before he continued, "I was thinking we should visit Myrtle again, she might be able to tell us more about the Chamber and I really think the entrance is in her bathroom."

"But you looked at the sink."

"I know but not properly, I want to look again."

"Well we don't have class for another hour," Ron noted, "But I'm supposed to play a game of chess with George."

"I really think it's the entrance," Harry repeated.

"Alright," Ron sighed, "If you really think so."

* * *

"Myrtle?" Harry called out as he pushed open the bathroom door.

He always felt as if he should call out to her or announce himself as soon as he entered the lavatory, as if it were her home, but he supposed in a way it was and besides if he wanted her help he couldn't be rude.

Myrtle appeared her stall instantly a smile plastered upon her face.

"Hello Harry," she smiled in her flirty manner, "I was just thinking about you."

"Um yeah hi," Harry forced a smile, "I was wondering if we could talk to you again."

"You can come talk to me anytime," the ghost smiled.

"About…about how you died."

Myrtle smiled once more and nodded.

"You said all you saw was a pair of eyes coming from that sink right?"

"No", she shook her head, "I said by those sinks...only the sinks weren't there."

"What was there?" Harry asked as he felt Ron suck in his breath next to him.

"I'm not sure what it was," Myrtle admitted, "It was kind of a black hole type of thing."

He felt Ron jab him in the side.

That was the chamber it had to be.

Slowly Harry approached the sinks once more. He looked them over carefully but to his dismay they just looked like normal sinks.

He felt the coldness as Myrtle swooped down next to him.

"That one has never worked," she noted as she pointed to one of the sinks.

Harry carefully turned the handle but Myrtle was right nothing happened. He leaned in closer to inspect it.

"We have to head back and get our books, we have class soon," Ron reminded Harry.

Harry was about to give up and head back to their dormitory with Ron when he noticed something about the sink, very tiny and almost completely hidden was a carving...of a snake.

"Ron look at this!" Harry exclaimed loudly.

Ron rushed over next to him and bent over to get a closer look at where Harry was pointing and as he did Myrtle swooped in for a closer look as well.

"A snake?" The ghost pondered, "That's the symbol of Slytherin."

"This has to be it," Ron breathed in an excited yet scared voice.

Suddenly Professor McGonagall's voice echoed through the school.

**"All students return to their House dormitories at once. All teachers return to the staff room. Immediately please."**

Harry and Ron both jumped back from the sink at the sound of McGonagall's voice. Though neither said a word Harry was pretty sure Ron was thinking exactly what he was…when McGonagall had spoke it sounded as if she was right behind them, and he was sure they were caught.

"It sounds as if something bad has happened," Myrtle smiled.

Harry nodded in agreement but Ron was already at the door.

"Come in Harry," Ron urged, "We can't get caught."

"Sorry we have to run," Harry said to Myrtle as Ron opened the lavatory door, "We'll visit again soon."

**TBC...**


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's Note: As always thanks for all the reviews. I've spoiled you all horribly with my speedy updates the past few days but I have to warn you, the next chapter, as well as the one that follows that, may take me a day or so to write as a lot will happen in them. I promise to get them done this week though.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Harry and Ron rushed through the corridors to find them deserted.

"Come on," Harry whispered as he turned in the opposite direction of the Gryffindor tower.

"Where are we going?"

"Shh, just follow me."

Harry quietly headed towards the teachers staff room. Just outside of it was a closet and he quickly opened the door just as far as he needed to and slipped himself into it pulling Ron behind him.

"Are you..."

Harry covered Ron's mouth with his hand before giving him a look that clearly told him to shut up.

Ron sighed softly before nodding in agreement and only once he did so did Harry remove his hand.

Harry heard the teachers muttering amongst themselves but couldn't make out any distinct words and then someone walked right past the closet and into the staff room leaving the door open behind them.

"It has happened," Professor McGonagall announced in a sad but firm voice, "A student has been taken into the Chamber by the monster."

Harry sucked in his breath as he felt Ron do the same. He listened as he heard several teachers gasp in disbelief.

"How can you be sure?" Snape's voice finally spoke and for the first time ever Harry heard sadness in the man's voice.

"The Heir of Slytherin left another message under the first one."

"And what did this message say?" Snape's voice one more.

"Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever."

Harry heard the distinct sound of tears and wondered which teacher was crying.

"Who is it?" He heard Remus' panicked voice. "Which student?"

"Ginny Weasley," Professor McGonagall said sadly.

Harry felt Ron slide down onto the floor next to him. He felt his best friend grip a handful of Harry's pant leg.

"I knew this would happen," Harry heard Snape's voice once more this time angry.

Harry heard Ron's rapid breathing and prayed no one else did.

"This is the end of Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall continued, "We'll have to send all the students home tomorrow. Dumbeldore is in Ireland at the moment he will be returning shortly but he always said that if this happened there would be no questions asked…Hogwarts would close. The Heads of Houses should go inform their students of what has happened. Tell them that the Hogwarts Express will take them home first thing in the morning and if the rest of you could go and make sure no students are left in the hallways please. Arthur and Molly will be arriving any moment and once they do I'd like to have a staff meeting with them present as well."

Harry listened as the teachers all muttered their understanding and then one by one left the room.

When Harry was absolutely sure the last teacher had left he sunk onto the floor next to Ron. The two of them sat in silence for a long time before Ron finally spoke.

"She knew something Harry, that's why she was sick, that's why she's been so strange lately...it had to be, she is a pure blood why else would the heir of Slytherin want her?"

Harry bit his bottom lip. He was very thankful for the darkness of the closet that was hiding what he was sure was his very guilty face.

"Do you...do you think there's a chance she's not...you know."

Harry sucked in his breath. He didn't see how Ginny could still be alive but he wasn't about to say that to Ron.

"I think we need to do something," Harry spoke.

He stood up and Ron followed suit. Slowly he pushed the door open and once his eyes adjusted to the light he could see that Ron was looking at him as though he had all the answers. Harry bit his bottom lip and he thought quickly. What could they do to help them figure out how to open the Chamber? What hadn't they done already? What could possibly help them at this point? Hermione could but she wasn't an option. Or was she?

"I've got it!" Harry all but shrieked as he took off in a run.

Ron was obviously waiting for something like this because he didn't miss a beat, the moment Harry began running he was right next to him.

Harry didn't stop until they were back in the Gryffindor common room. Clearly McGonagall had already addressed everyone because the room was a somber one. Students were crying or looked as though they had been. Percy was sitting starring out the window, his expression a lost one and George and Fred were no where to be seen.

Harry stopped for a brief moment as he saw Neville sitting alone looking terrified.

"Neville where are Fred and George?"

"They've locked themselves up in their dormitory," Neville replied, "Your mum was just in here as well, I think she went to talk to Professor McGonagall. We've been told we have to stay in our houses, no exceptions. Can you believe all this Harry?"

"No I can't...Thanks Neville," Harry said before grabbing Ron's arm and dragging him up to their room.

Once there and after realizing they were alone, Harry ripped through his pile of dirty clothes praying the house elves hadn't already taken what he needed.

"Your dirty boxer shorts are going to help us how?" Ron asked.

Harry ignored him and continued to dig through his dirty laundry not stopping until he found what he was looking for, the pants he had worn the first night he had visited with Hermione. Reaching into the pocket he pulled out the piece of parchment he had taken from her cold, stiff hand.

"This is what Hermione was holding, see," he showed it to Ron, "It says pipes on this side which is obviously how the snake is getting around the castle now that we know that Chamber is connected to the sink or behind the sink or that's where the opening to it is anyway. Hermione tore this page out of a textbook and I figured it was just to write the note on it and that the other side was pointless but when does Hermione do anything pointless right?"

Harry didn't wait for an answer, he quickly flipped the paper over and read out loud convinced that it would be of some importance and he wasn't wrong.

"The Basilisk is the King of Serpents, which may reach giant size and live hundreds of years. The Basilisk has a murderous stare and all those who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death."

"A Basilisk?"

"Don't you see that's why no one has died no one has looked it in the eye which is probably why Hermione is holding a mirror, once she read this she probably used it to see around corners! And I bet if we go back to Myrtle's bathroom and I speak in parselmouth to the sink it'll open the Chamber and then we can go rescue Ginny and we won't get hurt because we know not to look the basilisk in the eyes!"

Ron was nodding in agreement by this point.

"We have to go, we have to go back to Myrtle's bathroom…and see if that's the entrance to the chamber."

"But how? We're supposed to stay in our dormitories for the night."

Harry stood up smiling as he retrieved his cloak from his trunk.

"You really want to do this?" Ron asked. "Even though Sirius might find out? We might get into loads of trouble."

"I don't care. Ginny is in there, we can't just sit here and do nothing and the adults aren't doing anything about it. Besides we're not just some little kids and Sirius will see that after we do this."

Ron nodded in agreement as a smile spread across his face, "Let's do it."

The two boys threw the cloak over themselves and quickly and quietly made their way back down to the common room.

Harry stole a glance at Percy as they passed him and there was no mistaking the tears in his eyes. This pained Harry and he vowed at that moment that if Ginny was still alive they would rescue her.

Carefully Harry pushed the door behind the fat lady open praying no one would notice and no one did, everyone was clearly too caught up in what was going on to notice anything.

Harry wanted to run all the back to Myrtle's bathroom but the incident with Snape had taught him that running under the cloak was not the best idea. It was obvious to him now that when he ran people could see his feet and he could easily be caught. So despite the urgency of getting to their destination Harry and Ron walked as slowly and carefully as they possibly could.

Harry had expected the halls to be crowded with teachers but surprisingly they were deserted and then he realized they were probably all together in their staff meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, trying to figure out how to save their only daughter.

The moment they were in the bathroom, Harry ripped the cloak off and headed for the sink, on his way there he spotted the diary, still lying on the edge of the bathtub.

"Grab that diary," he instructed Ron and though Harry was sure he'd ask a million questions Ron simply picked up the diary and followed Harry.

"You're back already?" Myrtle asked as she floated up out of her stall, "You naughty little Gryffindors, I heard that all students were instructed to stay in their houses, no exceptions."

Harry looked up at her. "We were but his sister," he pointed to Ron, "she was taken into the chamber…you didn't see anything did you?"

Myrtle shook her head, "I didn't see anything but I did hear that horrible voice again, the one that killed me, I was too afraid to come out and see what it was."

Harry nodded he didn't blame Myrtle one bit for her fear.

"I'm going to try and open up the Chamber," he told her, "So if that's going to scare you, you might want to leave or hide or whatever."

"I won't be scared with you here Harry," the ghost smiled sweetly.

Harry ignored her flirting as he turned to the sink.

"Open up," he commanded and then turned to look at Ron.

"English," Ron shook his head.

It was at that moment that Harry realized that although he was a parselmouth he had no idea how to speak parseltongue. Every time he had done so in the past a snake had spoke to him first, he had simply been responding.

He concentrated on snakes as he spoke once more, "Open up."

"Still English," Ron confirmed.

Harry sighed in frustration.

"Perhaps you have to be more demanding," Myrtle commented from her perch on the edge on the top of a stall, "You sound as if you are asking it a favor."

Harry looked at Ron who shrugged and he shrugged back, he would try anything at this point.

He took a deep breath and then with as much force and anger as he could muster he said the word once more in a commanding tone, "Open up!"

He held his breath as he watched the carving of the snake slither. The sink removed itself from the wall and then shrank down to nothing revealing a deep, dark hole.

"Thanks Myrtle," Harry smiled brightly and then he caught the look on Ron's face.

Ron looked more afraid then Harry had ever seen him look. His skin was almost as white as Myrtle's and Harry felt for his friend.

"If you don't want to come with me, you don't have to," Harry assured him.

Ron shook his head, "No...I'm okay."

"You sure?"

Ron nodded once more this time with more courage, "My baby sister is down there, I'm not backing out."

* * *

Remus Lupin had just left a very excruciating staff meeting. Dumbeldore had returned to the school and upon hearing what had happened had immediately confirmed what Minerva had already announced. The students had been told, parents were too be notified in the next few hours, and by this time tomorrow Hogwarts would be closed.

He had had a feeling for some time that the Chamber did indeed exist but he had hoped he had been wrong to think so. He had hoped it would never come to this.

His heart went out to the Weasley's. He couldn't imagine the pain and helplessness he would feel if a child of his was taken into the Chamber. When Minerva had announced that a child had been taken into the Chamber, Remus had instantly thought it was Harry. After all, if it was Voldermort behind this wouldn't he want Harry before any other student? Those few seconds when he thought Harry was lying in that Chamber had been the worst of his life and he honestly couldn't imagine how the Weasley's were coping at all. Already Molly had made it very clear that she would not be leaving Hogwarts without her daughter, and though the chances of Ginny being rescued were slim to none, Remus could sympathize with where she was coming from. If he had a child or if Harry had been taken into the Chamber he wouldn't be leaving without him either.

Remus sighed to himself as he unlocked the door to his office. It had been a long day and all he really wanted to do was forget about it all so he could get some sleep in order to wake early the following morning and begin packing his things.

He waved his wand once causing the candles in his office to ignite.

"Professor Remus Lupin," a voice spoke.

Remus turned around quickly to see a small house elf standing behind him.

"Who are you?" Remus asked.

"Dobby the house elf sir, Dobby needs to speak to you."

"Do you work for Hogwarts?" Remus asked. He was in complete and utter confusion at this little house elf that stood before him.

Dobby shook his head.

"What do you need to speak with me about?"

"Dobby needs to speak to you about Harry Potter Sir."

"Harry? What about Harry?"

"Dobby came to tell you that Harry Potter has opened the Chamber of Secrets."

* * *

Harry and Ron starred down the dark, deep hole for what seemed like an eternity and then it suddenly dawned on Harry that the longer they stood there the less of a chance there was for them to save Ginny and if there was even the faintest, slimmest wildest chance that Ginny was still alive they had to do this. Besides, they had come this far there was no turning back now.

"I'm going to jump down there," Harry stated as Ron's eyes grew huge, "Don't follow me until I tell you it's safe to, if I disappear run as fast as you can and get Remus and if you can't find Remus go to his office and use the floo and get Sirius."

Ron nodded quickly. "Be careful Harry."

Harry took a deep breath before stepping to the edge of the dark hole and then jumping down.

He was surprised that he didn't fall for very long, he had expected the hole to be much deeper. He hit the bottom hard and instantly realized he wasn't standing on ground but lots of bones.

"Harry," Ron yelled down, "Are you okay?"

Harry took his wand out of his back pocket and whispered, "Lumos", before answering. "Yeah it's safe to jump."

Seconds later Ron landed at his side.

"Take your wand out," Harry instructed.

Ron did as he was told and once his wand was lit up as well he made a face, "The ground is all bones."

"I know," Harry replied as he looked around, "I don't think they're human bones though."

They were surrounded by large stones aside from one very small walkway.

"Come on," Harry said as he headed towards the walkway, "This has to be the way."

* * *

Remus was in an absolute state of panic the moment he heard the house elf's words.

"Where is the Chamber entrance do you know?"

The house elf nodded, "It is in the girl's lavatory on the second floor Professor Remus Lupin Sir and you must hurry Harry Potter has just entered the Chamber."

And with that there was a loud pop and he was gone.

Remus instantly sprang into motion. He threw floo a handful of floo powder into the fireplace and within seconds he was standing in Sirius' living room.

"Sirius!" He called out in a completely panicked voice.

"I just heard," Sirius replied as he came walking down the stairs, "Poor Arthur and Molly I can't even ima..."

"Harry has opened the Chamber and he has gone inside."

Remus watched the look of sheer panic overcome Sirius' face and then without so much as a word Sirius raced down the few remaining steps and directly to the fireplace and without missing so much as a beat, Remus was beside him.

"Do you know where it is?" Sirius asked as he quickly ran through Remus' office as well as the Defense room.

"The girl's lavatory on the second floor."

* * *

Harry and Ron walked for what seemed like a long time.

"Do you think we're getting closer?" Ron asked in a hushed voice.

Harry shrugged, "Can I see the diary?"

Ron handed the diary to his friend, no questions asked. The moment Harry's hands made contact with the book he felt his scare begin to prickle in pain. Ignoring it the best he could, he flipped through the pages to find them empty the only writing in the entire book was on the inside of the front cover.

_This diary is the property of Tom M. Riddle._

"Any idea who Tom Riddle is?" Harry asked with little hope in his voice.

Ron shook his head. "I've never heard that name before."

Harry sighed as he tucked the diary under his arm and began walking once more, he had figured as much.

"Maybe we should call out for Ginny," Ron suggested.

"If she's down here I doubt she's in any state to answer."

Harry spoke the words and watched as Ron's face drastically changed.

"I didn't mean it like that," he quickly continued, "I just meant that I doubt she is down here just wandering around. I'm sure she's fine, but she probably won't be able to answer us if we call out."

Ron looked at Harry with doubtful eyes.

"She is fine, I'm sure of it. Ginny is strong I'm sure she's absolutely fine."

"Yeah," Ron nodded in agreement, "She is strong."

The two friends continued walking in silence for several moments and then they came across a gigantic snake skin on the ground.

"Harry," Ron all but whimpered.

"It's just a skin," Harry replied in a shaky voice trying to convince himself as much as he was his friend, "It's just a skin."

Harry looked up at the walkway before them and there in front of them was a large solid wall with ahead on which two serpents were carved.

Knowing that this had to be what they were looking for Harry ran ahead of Ron and stopped in front of the wall.

"Open," he commanded with as much authority as he could muster.

He watched as the snakes began to move, however the moment they did the rocks behind him fell down from the ceiling creating a solid wall of broken rock between him and Ron.

Harry quickly forgot about the door as he turned around.

"Ron, are you alright?"

"I'm okay," he heard Ron answer, "But what now? I can't get through and it'll take ages to move all of this."

Harry looked down at his wand and contemplated for one quick moment whether or not he should try to use it to blast through the rocks. He glanced up at the ceiling to see large cracks and decided it to be a bad idea. What if the whole tunnel caved in?

He glanced behind him to see that the door had indeed opened.

"Wait there," he finally called out to Ron, "Try and move some of this rock so I can get back through, I'm going to go try and find Ginny if I'm not back in an hour..."

"I'll get help...somehow I'll get help," Ron tried to assure his friend, "And Harry..."

"See you in a bit," Harry cut him off knowing very well that Ron was about to say something he didn't want, didn't need to hear.

Harry turned back towards the door and shaking from head to toe, he walked through it.

* * *

Sirius pushed open the door to the girl's lavatory with Remus right behind them. The moment Myrtle saw them she shrunk back down in her stall. Under normal circumstances she would have shrieked and demanded that these two grown men leave her bathroom at once but it was obvious to her why they were there.

Sirius skidded to a halt at the top of the black hole and paused for all of a second before he jumped into it landing hardly at the bottom.

"Remus don't..."

But it was too late the words weren't even out of his mouth when Remus landed at his side.

Sirius wanted to tell his friend that there had been no need for him to risk his life as well. He wanted to tell him that it had been bloody stupid of him to jump down here and that he should have gone off to get more help. He wanted to tell him so many things but he couldn't bring himself to say any of them. Sirius felt his heart swell at the risk Remus had just taken to help him save his godson and although he wanted to thank him a million times over he knew that there time was precious at the moment and so instead he raced down the only walkway he saw with Remus by his side.

**TBC...**


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's Note: Well I did better than I thought I would and completed this chapter today. The next one is proving to be a difficult one to write so although I am hopeful that it'll be done soon, don't get your hopes up. And just a note..I always have a million different ideas for each chapter running through my head and I never really know which direction I am going to go in until I'm actually writing that part. I noticed that people comment with things like, 'please Sirius don't be mad at him' or 'I bet Remus won't put up with his attitude much longer' and I just wanted to say feel free to give me your opinion or input like that because some of the time it opens up like a whole new idea for me and I end up going in that direction. Hopefully that made sense, as I am having a hard time explaining myself here :)**

**As always thank you so much for the reviews and adds.**

**Enjoy this chapter! And feedback is always welcome.**

* * *

Harry stood at the end of a very long chamber. All around him snakes were carved into everything he glanced at. Taking a deep breath he slowly began walking. He was thankful for the candles lighting his way and distinguished his wand tucking it into his back pocket.

The chamber turned slightly and then at the very end of it, lying in a crumpled pile on the floor was a small red-headed girl.

"Ginny!" Harry couldn't help but yell as he rushed towards her. Once next to her he fell to his knees and shook her violently. "Don't be dead," he muttered, "Please don't be dead." He quickly turned her onto her back so he could see her face, her eyes were closed so then she wasn't petrified but if she wasn't petrified then that meant...

"Ginny please wake up," Harry all but cried the words, "Please!"

"She will not wake up," a voice spoke softly.

Instantly Harry was on his feet and he spun around to see a tall black haired boy.

"Who are you?" Harry asked and he was happy his voice sounded much braver then he felt.

"Tom Riddle," the boy replied, "And you're friend there is still alive, but barely."

Harry glared at the boy and took note that he was wearing Hogwarts school robes, Slytherin robes to be exact, only they looked old, like an outdated version of the ones worn now…they looked like Myrtles.

"Are you a ghost?" Harry asked.

"A memory," Tom answered, "A memory brought back to life when your friend Ginny here wrote in my diary."

Harry starred at him for a moment before snapping back into action. "You've got to help me," he pleaded, "We've got to get her out of here there's a basilisk and it could be anywhere if it comes..."

"It won't come until it's called. I've waited a long time for this Harry Potter for the chance to speak to you."

It didn't even occur to Harry to wonder how this boy knew his name he was too panicked over Ginny, too used to random people knowing who he was.

"We can talk later," Harry replied his voice in a panic, "We've got to get out of here now."

"No we're going to talk now."

It was then Harry realized that there was something strange about this boy, something he didn't like.

"How did Ginny get like this?" He asked in a low voice.

"She had my diary," Tom explained, "She has been writing in it for weeks, telling me all her problems...how hard first year can be, how much she missed her parents, how her brothers never even notice her, how she didn't think the famous Harry Potter would ever like her. It was all very boring, I must admit but I was patient and I wrote back to her and Ginny simply loved me. If I may say so myself I have always been quite good at charming people when I need to. She poured her soul out to me and her soul happened to be just what I needed, I grew stronger the more she told me her deepest secrets and fears and when I was strong enough I started feeding her a little part of my soul."

"**You **are the one who made her do all those horrible things," Harry accused angrily.

"Indeed I am. I had her write the threatening messages on the wall and open the Chamber of Secrets and yes she set the Basilisk lose on the other students...of course she didn't know what she was doing and it was probably better that way."

"That's where you're wrong," Harry replied his anger beginning to overcome his small body, "She did know, she told me all about it days ago."

"Perhaps," Tom smiled, "But it was too late then. I had already fed enough of myself into her, and besides the other students she hurt do not matter to me my main target is you and I knew if I brought her here you would follow, always wanting to be the hero."

Harry ignored the jab at his character. "Why did you want to meet me?"

"You fascinate me Harry, how is it that a baby was able to defeat the most powerful dark wizard of all time and walk away from it all with nothing but a scar?"

"Why do you care?" Harry spat the words.

"Have you not figured it out yet?" Tom smirked.

But Harry had had enough of this game, he reached into his back pocket ready to retrieve his wand but found it wasn't there.

"Looking for this?" Tom smiled as he pulled Harry's wand out of his own back pocket.

"Give me that!" Harry demanded.

"Not so fast," Tom smiled.

He waved the wand in the air and his name suddenly appeared.

_Tom Marvolo Riddle_

And then he waved the wand once more and the letters re-arranged themselves.

_I am Lord Voldemort_

* * *

"Ron!" Remus called out as he spotted the young red headed boy farther up along the walkway.

Ron turned around quickly and spotted Remus and Sirius rushing towards him.

"Are you okay?" Remus asked.

"Where's Harry?" Sirius demanded.

"I'm okay, Harry is on the other side of this wall of rocks they collapsed when he opened the Chamber door, he kept going to try and find Ginny," Ron quickly explained the fear very evident in his voice.

Sirius' initial reaction was to scream at this child and scare him within an inch of his life but now was not the time. It was obvious by the look of Ron that he was scared out of his wits and Sirius knew it wouldn't be smart to scare him even more. He also knew that his godson was still in great danger and that he couldn't stop for even a moment until Harry was safe in his arms.

Quickly he whipped out his wand and blasted several spells at the stone wall hoping to destroy it but nothing seemed to work.

"It must be protected by some powerful dark magic," Remus concluded before quickly sending a patronus to Dumbeldore.

Without any hesitation Sirius began moving the heavy rocks as if they were as light as pillows.

For a quick moment Remus debated mentioning that if they perhaps waited for Dumbeldore to arrive he would know a spell that could help but the image of Harry hurt or worse filled his mind and within seconds he was right beside Sirius helping him with his task.

Ron continued to try and help to the best of his ability.

The three of them worked in silence.

* * *

"You see," Tom smiled at Harry, "That was my name when I was here at Hogwarts but I was already picking a new name, a name that one day everyone would fear."

"I don't fear you," Harry dared praying that Tom couldn't see how badly his hands were shaking.

Tom opened his mouth to speak but stopped as music could be heard down the long hallway that led to the Chamber.

Dumbeldore's phoenix swooped down next to Harry and dropped a bundle at his feet.

"Fawkes," Harry breathed. He had met the bird last year in Dumbeldore's office, the same night he had first met his godfather.

And then a sickening feeling crept up his stomach. His godfather! Sirius was going to kill him for this! How could he have honestly thought this was good idea or that Sirius would never find out? Oh, what had he been thinking!

"That bird has brought you the old school Sorting Hat," Tom laughed.

Harry looked down at the bundle at his feet, it was the sorting hat.

"This is Professor Dumbeldore's bird," Harry spoke bravely.

"Dumbeldore sent you a bird and a hat to defeat me," Tom laughed once more, "Do you feel brave Harry Potter? Do you feel safe?"

Harry had to admit he wasn't feeling very brave or safe and he was pretty sure it would be quite some time before he felt either of those things again. He and Tom had been talking for some time now and he was sure that couldn't be good, Ginny was probably losing more and more hope with every second that passed."

"So tell me Harry Potter how did you manage to defeat me twice so far in your life?"

"I don't know," Harry replied honestly, "No one does. But I do know why you couldn't kill me it was because my mother died to save me. And you aren't all that powerful, I saw you last year, I saw the real you and you are barely alive that's why you are in hiding."

"But your mother isn't here now Harry Potter, no one is here to save you and all you have is a bird and an old hat so let's see how well you do."

Harry was ready for Tom to raise his own wand against him but he didn't instead he smiled a sickly sweet smile before turning.

"Speak to me Slytherin," he called out.

Harry was sure he was speaking parseltongue as he understood every word perfectly but they came with a hissing sound.

For the first time Harry noticed a giant statue of a serpent behind where Tom stood. He watched in amazement and horror as the serpents mouth opened wider and wider. As it did so Fawkes took flight once more, leaving Harry alone.

Thinking back on everything he had learned in the past few days about the basilisk Harry quickly squeezed his eyes closed and began to back away.

He felt something large and heavy slam onto the floor.

"Kill him," he heard Tom hiss.

The basilisk was coming for him and Harry knew it, he turned and began to run in the opposite direction, his eyes open just a sliver in case he needed to clamp them shut once more.

And then he heard Fawkes loud cry and the basilisk moaning in agony. Before Harry even realized what he was doing his eyes opened wide and he found himself mere inches from the basilisk's face, however, his eyes were gone. They had obviously been scratched out by Fawkes and blood was draining from them.

"No!" Harry heard Tom yell, "Don't go after the bird, go after the boy, smell him out!"

Harry took off in a run but the basilisk could still clearly smell him as it was following him, just as deadly though a little slower now.

"Help me," Harry muttered under his breath, "Someone, anyone please help me."

And then he felt something soft hit his face, Fawke's had dropped the hat onto him, gripping it tightly Harry felt the basilisk moving in closer on him. He turned to run and quickly realized he had ran down a dead end, there was no way out.

"Please," Harry muttered, "Please help me."

The basilisk was zeroing in on him now, just feet away from him.

"SIRIUS!" Harry screamed out in pure panic.

* * *

Sirius' head jerked up instantly as he heard his godson's distant screams echo through the walkway.

"HARRY!" He screamed back now moving at a maniac speed throwing rocks left and right.

Ron who had been trying to help quickly jumped out of the way realizing that with as fast as Sirius was moving he was of little help at all.

Remus sprung into action moving just as quickly as Sirius was though he did pause for a moment to give Ron what he hoped was a small comforting smile.

From the moment they had spotted Ron everything about the boy had shown his fear. From the way he looked to the way he was fumbling with the rocks. There wasn't a doubt in Remus' mind that the boy was beside himself with fear and when they heard Harry's yell the look of fear on Ron's face, if possible, multiplied and Remus so no reason not to take every opportunity to try and comfort him in any small way he possibly could. Of course Remus was beside himself with worry over Harry's safety as well as Ginny's but he saw no need to have his worry make Ron's any worse.

When Harry had screamed Remus' blood had literally ran cold but at the same time he couldn't help but feel some small hope, if Harry had screamed that meant he was still alive and still able to scream.

* * *

The basilisk was less than two feet from Harry when Harry pushed his hand into the hat. He wasn't sure if he it would work or not but he was desperate.

"Please help me," he muttered. And then he felt something long and hard in his hand.

He pulled his hand out of the hat to find a sword, the handle glittering with rubies. Without giving a second thought to his actions Harry raised the sword high and waited for the basilisk to get close enough. The second it was within his reach he brought the sword down with all his might directly into the basilisk's head.

Immediately Harry knew he had done the right thing. The serpent began to thrash around in the air and then it fell to the ground. However, on the way its fang got caught in Harry's arm falling out of the basilisk's mouth on the way to his death.

Harry slid down the wall as he gripped the fang and pulled it out of his body but he could already feel the effects of the poison moving through him.

Fawkes swooped down beside him.

"Fawkes," Harry whispered, "You were brilliant."

Harry's vision was blurred as he looked up and saw Tom Riddle making his way towards him.

"You may have killed the basilisk Harry Potter but it is too late, you are already dying, look even Dumbeldore's stupid bird knows it, look at him crying for your death."

Harry glanced down at Fawkes and indeed he was crying. He was leaning over Harry's wound and allowing his tears to drip into it. At first Harry was confused by this and then he realized what was happening as the tears dripped he felt the effects of the poison vanishing and then he began to see his wounds getting smaller.

"Get away from him bird!" He heard Riddle yell and Fawkes suddenly swooped off into the air once more.

"Of course, Phoenix tears are healing, how silly of me to forget," Riddle smiled, "But then no matter I like it better this way, I would rather kill you on my own. I would rather..."

But Tom was interrupted as Fawkes swooped down once more and dropped a book into Harry's lap.

Harry looked down quickly and instantly recognized the diary. Without giving any second thought to what he was about to do he picked up the fang that he had just pulled out of his arm and stabbed it into the center of the diary.

The diary reacted immediately sputtering ink as if it were blood.

Harry looked up to see Tom Riddle shaking and fading quickly and then all of a sudden he was gone and Harry's wand fell to the ground.

Slowly Harry stood up and picked up his wand as Fawkes landed on his shoulder.

"You were absolutely brilliant" Harry smiled, "Thank you Fawkes."

The bird dipped his head in a bow before taking flight once more and then Harry heard someone moving.

Rushing back to the main part of the Chamber he found Ginny shifting in her sleep.

"Ginny," he exclaimed as he rushed to her side. The moment he was next to her he kneeled down on the floor.

Slowly Ginny opened her eyes. "Harry?"

"It's all over Ginny, the basilisk is dead and Tom is gone."

"You...you saved me?"

Harry nodded, "Ron helped too he just got trapped back there but he's alright."

"I'm going to be expelled," Ginny began crying, "Everyone is going to hate me after this Harry, everyone. What'll mum and dad say?"

"It's going to be fine Ginny, everything is going to be fine." He reassured her, "But we've got to go, Ron is probably worried and people have probably realized Ron and I are missing by now. Can you stand?"

The words were barely out of Harry's mouth when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Harry!"

Harry stood up quickly and turned around to see Sirius, Remus, and Ron running towards them.

"Ginny!" Ron yelled his smile taking over his entire face.

Sirius immediately crushed Harry into a hug and then pulled him away from his body feeling him all over, "Are you hurt? Is anything broken? Are you okay?"

Harry nodded, "I'm okay."

* * *

Harry sat on the edge of the bed in the hospital wing waiting as patiently as he could for Madam Pomfrey to declare him well and allow him to go.

The moment they had left the Chamber they had been met by Dumbeldore, Snape, and McGonagall.

Dumbeldore had immediately praised both Harry and Ron despite the disapproving looks he was getting from the other adults present. Snape had kept his comments to himself but Harry could tell from the look on his face that although he was thankful for Ginny's safe return he did not approve one bit of the way it had happened. McGonagall had shrieked with joy as she hugged Harry, Ron, and Ginny before rushing off to find Molly and Arthur.

Moments after they had walked out of Myrtle's lavatory Harry had been whisked off to the hospital wing at Sirius' orders. Although Harry had repeated several times that he was fine, Sirius wanted to be positive that there was absolutely nothing wrong with his godson and so Harry sat on the edge of the bed allowing Madam Pomfrey to look him over.

He didn't know where Sirius and Remus had gone though he was sure it was to talk to Dumbeldore or something along those lines. Initially when Harry had seen Sirius down in the Chamber he had been beyond thrilled to see his godfather, during the fight with the basilisk he had been so sure he would die and never see the man again and so when it was all over Sirius' face and the sound of his voice was a great comfort.

However, now it was all over. Sirius hadn't made a single comment about Harry risking his life or being in trouble for risking his life or any thing of the sort...but Harry knew his godfather and he knew that thinking that Sirius was just going to congratulate him for a job well done and let it be was very, very wishful thinking.

And then as if Harry had summoned him from his thoughts, his godfather appeared in the entrance to the hospital wing.

"What's the verdict?" Sirius asked as he walked towards his godson.

"She says I'm fine," Harry replied, "But she wants me to wait here while she gets some potion for me to drink so I won't feel achy later. She said that even though I feel okay now later on I might be sore."

Sirius nodded at this.

"Sirius?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorr…"

Sirius shook his head cutting his godson off, "Not now Pup, you do what Madam Pomfrey tells you to do and then I want you to go pack some things and meet me in Remus' office, you are coming home for the weekend."

**TBC...**


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's Note: Thank you all SO much for all the reviews, I really do appreciate them. I got a lot of input and opinions from people on how this chapter and the following one should go so hopefully you'll all be pleased with the outcome. I really put my heart into this one so I'm hoping you'll all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**Enjoy! And as always feedback is welcome.**

* * *

Just a little over an hour later Harry found himself standing outside of Remus' office, a bag packed for the weekend in his hand, absolutely dreading knocking on the door.

He had just opened and went into the Chamber of Secrets, he had faced and managed to destroy some form of Voldemort, and he had faced and killed a basilisk and lived to tell about it all yet he way absolutely dreading facing his godfather more than he had dreaded anything else he had done earlier that day.

He couldn't even fathom how at some point he had thought they wouldn't get caught if they went into the Chamber. He couldn't even imagine how he had, at one point, not cared if he got into trouble for this. He had wanted to do this so Sirius would see him as more grown up and now standing outside of Remus' office he felt younger than he had in a long time.

Of course he didn't regret saving Ginny at all though in hindsight there may have been better ways to go about it.

Chewing on his bottom lip and taking a deep breath Harry raised his hand and knocked once on the office door.

"Come in", Remus' voice spoke.

Slowly Harry pushed the door open to find Remus sitting behind his desk as Sirius paced the floor.

"Are you ready?" Sirius asked the moment he spotted his godson.

Harry nodded once.

After he had left the hospital wing he hadn't been able to find Ron anywhere. It was Neville who had told him that all the Weasley's had gone home for a few days and Harry could totally understand why. After everything that had happened with Ginny of course they would want a few days at home together. Neville had also informed him that the mandrakes would be ready any moment and that by tomorrow everyone that had been petrified would be awake and back to normal. When Harry heard those words he had wanted to run down to Remus' office and beg his godfather to allow him to stay so he could see Hermione but he knew better than that. After everything he had just done there was no way he was asking Sirius for anything.

Harry watched as his godfather grabbed a handful of floo powder and he quickly walked across the room to stand by his side. As he passed, Remus offered him a small reassuring smile, but try as he might Harry couldn't return it. Although Remus didn't seem angry at the moment Harry was sure it was only because he knew what he was about to go through. Harry was almost positive that after this weekend he'd find himself apologizing to Remus. He was glad that Dumbeldore hadn't expelled him and he was glad McGonagall hadn't taken every last house point from him but none of that really mattered at the moment. All that mattered was Sirius and although Sirius didn't look angry Harry couldn't help but notice that he didn't look like his normal self either.

Moments later the two stepped into their living room and Harry immediately sucked in his breath. This was it.

"Are you hungry?" Sirius asked, "I could heat up some soup."

Harry nodded slowly.

"Go put your bag up in your room and I'll get some dinner together."

"Okay," Harry breathed the word.

He walked into his room and deposited his bag onto his bed in utter confusion. This was not what he had expected at all. He had expected to walk out of the floo and be sent straight to his room with the promise of Sirius to follow or if not sent to his room he had expected Sirius to just dole out his punishment right there in the living room.

He closed his bedroom door behind him as he slowly made his way back down the stairs. Once entering the kitchen he found Sirius standing by the stove stirring what smelled like tomato soup.

Carefully Harry slid into his seat at the table, which was already set.

He noticed that Sirius turned just an inch to confirm that his godson was in fact now in the room.

"I was discussing Christmas with Arthur the other day," Sirius said as he dished the soup into bowls, "And Molly was thinking it would be nice if we all got together and celebrated Christmas. I suppose we'd do so at the Burrow, how does that sound to you?"

"It sounds good," Harry replied in a soft voice as Sirius placed the bowl of soup in front of him.

"I figured you would think so but I wanted to make sure, we wouldn't stay there of course just floo over on Christmas Eve and probably again on Christmas day to celebrate with them."

Harry nodded as he took a bite of his soup trying to hide his confusion.

"I can't believe the Christmas holidays are so close, pretty soon the school year will be over and you'll be home for the summer again," Sirius said as he ate.

Another nod.

"Of course it probably doesn't seem that way to you I remember being a student and the school year seemed to drag on forever as the summers flew by."

Harry stole a glance at his godfather. He didn't look angry in the least, still something was off. He looked different in a way Harry had never seen him look before.

"Sirius about today I'm..."

"I was thinking this summer we should take a trip," Sirius continued giving no inclination that he had even heard Harry speak, "Maybe to the seaside, I always loved going to the seaside and I haven't been in years."

"The seaside?" Harry asked. Now he was past confused, after everything that had happened today Sirius wanted to take him to the seaside? And he wanted to discuss it now?

"The seaside" Sirius confirmed, "Have you ever been?"

Harry shook his head slowly.

"Well then we have to change that," Sirius replied as he finished up his supper, "We'll plan a trip and go for a week. You'll love it there."

Harry nodded as he ate the last few bites of his soup.

Sirius quickly stood and cleared the table leaving the dirty dished in the sink and then quickly he fixed two cups of tea. He placed Harry's cup in front of him before taking his seat once more.

"Charlie was very impressed with your Quidditch skills you know."

Harry nodded as he took a sip of his tea. His confusion was building by the moment and aside from confusion he couldn't have explained what else he was feeling if his life depended on it. He certainly didn't want his godfather to be angry with him, he didn't want to be in trouble, and he definitely didn't want the spanking he knew he deserved for putting his life in danger. Well past danger actually. Flying the car had been putting his life in danger, going to the Order meeting had been putting his life in danger…today he had basically knocked on death's door and ran away. He absolutely deserved a spanking at the very least, he deserved Sirius to be angry with him, he deserved to be in trouble but he didn't want any of it. However, he didn't want this either. Sirius was basically acting as if nothing had happened and though Harry couldn't understand why it hurt him. Wasn't Sirius supposed to be in charge here? Wasn't he supposed to be angry? Wasn't he supposed to be lecturing and yelling right now?

"I was thinking we should really get some kind of small Quidditch pitch for the yard, I know how much you enjoy playing and that way you could play better when you are home."

_Christmas with the Weasley's, the seaside, a Quidditch pitch! What is wrong with him?_, Harry thought as he drank his tea.

"Maybe on Sunday before I deliver you back to Hogwarts we could go down to Hogsmeade or even to Diagon Alley and see if we can't find one."

"Okay," Harry agreed in a small voice.

He watched as his godfather finished the last of his tea. Maybe that was it. Maybe Sirius had wanted to finish eating before they got into today's events. Maybe if he brought it up now Sirius would acknowledge it.

"Earlier today I didn't mean to..."

"You should probably head up to bed, I know it isn't that late but I'm sure you're tired."

Maybe not.

"But..."

"Not now Harry, go get some sleep."

Harry nodded softly as he stood up. He walked over to the sink and deposited his cup before turning and heading for his room.

* * *

Sirius sighed to himself as he heard his godson's bedroom door close. After sitting at the table in silence for several moments Sirius slowly got up and made his way over to the sink. Twenty minutes later the dishes were washed, dried, and back in the cupboards were they belonged.

Sirius made his way into the living room and collapsed into his armchair. His mind raced back to the events of the day. He couldn't shake the feeling that had invaded his body the moment he had realized that Harry was in the Chamber. He couldn't block out the sound of his godson's terrified scream for him. He had been absolutely positive after hearing that scream that they would find Harry lying dead on the Chamber floor. He had been absolutely positive when he heard that scream that he was hearing his godson dying and begging him for help. He couldn't lose the feeling that the one time Harry really had needed him, he hadn't be able to help him at all.

Sirius sighed once more as he placed his knees on his elbows and leaned down, his hands cupping his head. Never in all his life had he experienced fear as he had today.

Sirius felt the lump growing in his throat as he painfully swallowed it back down. He had to stop this and focus on the facts. Harry was safe now. He was home. He hadn't died or even been seriously hurt. Still, he couldn't stop the fear that had settled in his gut.

He wanted nothing more then to take a sleeping drought and wake up tomorrow forgetting this whole day had ever happened. He knew he couldn't forget it though. He was going to have to talk to his godson about this. There was absolutely no way he could just let this go. No, they were going to have to have a long discussion and he would have to punish Harry. As much as he was dreading it, it would have to be done.

* * *

Harry was in bed but he wasn't anywhere close to asleep. He couldn't understand why his godfather was acting like he was. He couldn't understand why he was obviously avoiding any and every thing that had to do with today. It had been a good few hours since they had left the Chamber and Sirius hadn't even allowed him to apologize for it yet and that never happened. Usually when he messed up Sirius allowed him to apologize several times by now. Usually by now his godfather had already lectured and he had already been punished and he was feeling better by now. But he wasn't feeling better at all, if possible he felt worse.

Had he messed up so badly that Sirius didn't even care to punish him or even say anything about it?

* * *

Sirius Black was crying.

Of course he wasn't sobbing or even weeping but there was no denying the few stray tears that were seeping through his eyes. As he sat in his armchair, still bent over, his head in his hands he couldn't help the tears that were slowly falling from his eyes.

He couldn't recall the last time he had cried but if he had to guess he would go with the night James and Lily had died. Of course there had been moments since then that he had wanted to cry and even come close to doing so but he had always swallowed his tears and just dealt with the situation. Tonight, however, that was not an option at all.

Tonight he felt worse then he had in a long time. Try as he might he couldn't shake the fear he had been feeling since Remus had stepped through the floo hours ago.

His head was telling him to let Harry sleep, after all the boy had been through quite an ordeal but his heart was telling him to go talk to his godson and take care of this tonight before it went any further, before he sent Harry the wrong message, before he got past the stage he was in and became so angry that he said or worse did something to his godson that he would regret.

"Sirius," he heard the small voice.

Clearly his heart and his godson's were on the same page.

Sirius turned his head slightly to see Harry standing at the bottom of the steps. He was in his pajamas but it was clear that he hadn't been asleep yet.

"Hmmm?" Sirius responded turning his head back to continue looking at the floor.

"I just...I want...I think...I had..." Harry sighed softly as he stumbled over his words, "I'm just sorry. I'm so sorry Sirius."

Sirius sighed sitting up and quickly brushing a stray tear from his cheek before answering. "Come here Pup."

Within seconds Harry was standing in front of his godson. He expected that this was it, this was when he would be punished but Sirius surprised him once more by pulling him into his lap and instantly crushing him in a hug.

"I love you so much," Sirius muttered softly and it was then that Harry heard the sound of tears in his voice.

"I love you too," Harry replied as if he were trying to reassure his godfather.

The two hugged for several long moments before Sirius pulled Harry back and looked him dead in the eye.

"I am so incredibly proud of you for your actions today."

"Proud?" Harry asked in a confused voice.

Sirius nodded, "Very proud. What you did was so noble Harry you saved Ginny's life even though it meant putting your own in danger. You were so brave."

"I didn't feel very brave," Harry admitted, "I was really, really scared."

"I was really scared today as well," Sirius said softly, "**Really **scared."

"I didn't mean to scare you," Harry all but whispered the words, "Is that why you won't talk to me about today?"

Sirius shook his head, "No Pup, I just...I had to deal with it in my own way before talking to you. You have no idea the fear that overcame me when I found out you were in the Chamber, you have no idea how terrified I was when I heard you scream out for me. I thought we were going to find you dead down there Harry."

Harry swallowed the large lump in his throat. "I didn't mean to scare you," he repeated.

"I know Harry," Sirius sighed, "But I really thought I was going to lose you today. You needed me down there and I couldn't reach you. I really thought that this time..."

Sirius stopped speaking and Harry felt his heart break a little as he saw the tears rim his godfather's eyes once more.

"I'll never do anything like this again," Harry promised as he wrapped his arms around his godfather's neck and hugged him tightly.

Sirius nodded softly, "I know you won't, we're going to make sure of that."

He felt his godson's body stiffen slightly.

Carefully Sirius removed the boy's arms from around him and looked him in the eye once more. "I do need you to understand though that I am proud of you for saving Ginny, aside from other things, your actions today we're extremely unselfish. You gave the Weasley's their daughter back and I am sure they will be eternally grateful to you for it. You have such a kind heart Harry and in that way you are so very much like your mother, she was always putting everyone else's needs before her own and she would stop at nothing to keep the one's she loved safe, as I'm sure you know."

Harry nodded.

"And I'm sure you also know that I can't just let today slide. Although you did do a very brave, very noble thing today you put yourself into immense danger."

Another nod.

"And while it won't get you off the hook completely, it may make you feel better to tell me the entire story and if you want to do so you may and I promise you I will listen."

"It'll probably just get me into more trouble," Harry admitted softly.

"More trouble?" Sirius gave the boy a small smile, "I'm not sure that's possible at this point."

Harry looked down into his lap as he chewed softly on his bottom lip. What Sirius had asked had sounded like a request but Harry was pretty sure it wasn't one, he was pretty sure that refusing to tell wouldn't help his situation at all and well, telling surely couldn't hurt his situation.

"Remember that day this summer when you found the plate from your parents house?" Harry asked softly. If he was going to tell he was going to tell the complete and total truth.

Sirius nodded, "I do."

"Well right before you called me downstairs a house elf was in my room and he...he told me that I couldn't go back to Hogwarts because it wasn't safe. He visited me a couple times after that while I was still home for the summer too...I never told you because Ron and I thought it was just Malfoy playing a prank."

He paused for a moment giving his godfather the chance to respond to this but Sirius remained silent.

"Then once I was back at Hogwarts Ron, Hermione, and I made Polyjuice potion and turned ourselves into Slytherins and snuck into the Slytherin common room to talk to Malfoy and found out it wasn't him."

Harry felt Sirius take a deep breath. Harry couldn't believe the things he was confessing, the things he was still going to confess. He was tempted to jump off of his godfather's lap and go lock himself in his room until this all blew over but he knew he couldn't do that. If he wanted to feel better he was going to have to tell his godfather everything.

"I started hearing a voice around school before I spoke parseltongue in Remus' class. I started hearing it right before Halloween only I didn't know it was a snake then. I thought I was just going crazy, hearing voices. Hermione figured out it was a snake after I spoke parseltongue in Defense class. Remus and Dumbeldore asked me after that if I had heard anything when I found Mrs. Norris and Megan attacked but I lied and said no both times."

Harry took a deep breath before he continued his story, "That day that I spoke to the snake in Defense...I was mad at you when you came to Hogwarts. I was mad because you sent me to the library and you wouldn't tell me anything about what was going on...I was mad because you treated me like some little kid, you made me feel like I didn't matter."

"Oh Harry I never meant to make you feel like that," Sirius sighed, "I was trying to protect you, I was trying to keep you safe, I was..."

"I know that now," Harry cut his godfather off, "I really do. But I didn't know it then and then when Professor McGonagall told us the whole story about the Chamber we decided to go talk to Hagrid and see if he could tell us more and he told us that Myrtle would know. That was the same night that I came home for dinner and I was so horrible to you. You made me promise I wouldn't go into the Chamber and I lied right to your face because I already knew then that if we could figure it out I was going in. I just felt like I had to, to prove to you that I wasn't just some little kid."

He felt Sirius sigh. "So that's where all that attitude stemmed from?"

Harry nodded. "I was just really mad at you."

"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings like that Pup."

"It's okay," Harry replied before continuing with his story. "The first night Hermione was in the hospital I went to visit her under my cloak and I ended up talking to Ginny. She...she told me that night she opened the chamber and that she helped hurt everyone. She made me promise not to tell anyone and I gave her my words so I didn't...you're the first person I am telling."

"It's a very noble trait to be a person that stands by their word Harry," Sirius noted softly.

"Ron and I went and talked to Myrtle," Harry continued, "She told us the whole story about how the basilisk killed her and she showed us where the Chamber entrance was. You told me the night that Snape caught me visiting Hermione that I didn't have to handle things all on my own but I did because I wanted to prove to you that I am more than just some dumb little kid."

"Harry I have never, not even for a moment, thought of you as some dumb little kid. You are an amazing person and an amazing wizard with so much talent and bravery but you don't have to ever handle anything alone and I need you to understand that."

"I do understand that now," Harry nodded and then continued, "Ron and I talked to Myrtle again after that and we probably would have gone down in the Chamber right then but we heard Professor McGonagall announce for everyone to go to their houses...we didn't go to our house though we hid in a closet outside of the teacher's staff room and listened and found out that Ginny was in the Chamber after that we went back to the bathroom and I spoke parselmouth and opened the Chamber up...I guess you know everything else."

Harry felt his godfather sigh deeply. "So this has been going on for quite some time."

Harry nodded.

"You do know that if you would have came to me and told me all of this I would have believed you and we could have gone to Dumbeldore and told him and perhaps everything could have ended quite differently."

Harry nodded once more.

"I understand your reasoning behind not telling me Harry, don't get me wrong, I understand you were mad and hurt by my actions and I apologize for them. If I thought for even a second that my actions were what caused you to be acting as you were I would have talked to you about it immediately, you know that don't you?"

"Yeah," Harry replied in a soft voice, "I do."

"When I signed those papers and adopted you I took on the responsibility of being there for you in every way I possibly can but in order to do so I need you to talk to me and be honest with me. When you were angry with me you should have told me so and we could have corrected it. I wouldn't have been upset with you for telling me something like that."

"I was just so angry that I couldn't see past it," Harry admitted.

"Well in the future I hope you see things differently and come and speak to me about whatever is troubling you. I mean it Harry everything and anything you want to talk about I am always here."

"I know you are and I'm sorry for what I did and that I didn't tell you all of this sooner."

Sirius sighed once more as he ruffled his godson's hair. "What am I going to do with you?" He smiled softly and then even though he wasn't sure he should share his thoughts with his twelve year old he continued speaking, "There is a huge part of me that wants to send you to bed with nothing more than a warning to never do something like this again but we've been here before as far as you're safety is concerned haven't we?"

Harry nodded sadly. He couldn't argue with his godfather's words, they had been here before, several times actually.

"I've warned you plenty of times in the past that your safety is not something you can be so careless with and though I know you understand what I am saying and although what you did today was so very brave and selfless you still put your life in danger."

"I know," Harry whispered.

"And so even though I wish I didn't have to do what I am going to do...you've really left me no other choice here Harry."

Harry wanted to argue that there were plenty of other choices. After all, Sirius could ground him to his room for the weekend or he could take away his broom for even longer but Harry knew that arguing would do no good. Sirius was pretty consistent and the punishment for putting his life in danger had always been very clear to him. It wasn't as if this was all a surprise, he had known this was coming all along. Honestly Harry wouldn't have been the least bit surprised if Sirius had turned him over his knee right there in the Chamber the moment he saw him. He would have been mortified of course...but not surprised at all.

Sirius sighed once more, "Head on up to your room, I'll be up in a moment."

**TBC...**


	30. Chapter 30

Author's Note: As always thank you all SO much for your reviews, I really appreciate each and every once of them. I got a lot of mixed feeback through reviews and emails about how people felt about Harry being punished and I have to admit I was torn over what to do as well so I hope this chapter is to everyone's liking however if it's not feel free to tell me...nicely.

**Enjoy! And I'll try and have the next chapter up asap.**

* * *

The moment Sirius was certain that his godson was in his room he stood up and began pacing. Finally after several moments he stopped in front of the fireplace. Placing his hands on the mantel he sighed as he dropped his head for a moment. He hated this, absolutely hated it. He didn't want to punish his godson. He didn't want to have to be the one to go up there and deliver a spanking and at the same time he knew he had to. The last time his godson had put himself in danger he had let him off with just taking away his broom for a week and a single smack, of course it had been a hard smack, but still. The time before that he had promised Harry that the next time he risked his life the spanking he had received that night would look like a few love pats.

Now Sirius hated himself for making that promise.

He wished more than ever that James and Lily were still alive. He wished that they were the ones dealing with this tonight and that he was simply the fun loving godfather that would hear the story tomorrow and then playfully scold Harry waiting for James and Lily to leave the room so he could congratulate him on a job well done.

But would it really have been like that? If James and Lily were alive would Sirius really be the fun loving godfather he had always envisioned himself to be or would he be there right beside James scolding Harry as if he were his second father? These days he wasn't so sure.

He sighed loudly as he continued to lean on the mantel and weigh out his options. Harry had done something to save his best friends little sister Sirius saw the good in that. He had done something brave and noble and he hadn't told Sirius because he had made Harry feel unimportant. However, Harry had had other options he could have told Dumbeldore or any of his other professors. He had quite a few people he could have told before he ventured off into the Chamber and put himself in danger.

And that was just it he had put himself in danger. Serious danger. This wasn't the same as when he had been caught visiting Hermione in the middle of the night, that Sirius could let slide with a small punishment and a reminder to keep himself safe...this he could not. And after everything, after their entire summer together, after all the progress Sirius had thought they had made Harry was still lying to him. Harry had admitted only moments ago that he had lied straight to his godfather's face when Sirius asked him to promise he wouldn't go looking for the Chamber.

And he couldn't go back on his word. If there was one thing Sirius was absolutely sure about it was that Harry needed consistency. If he was ever going to get through to his godson the last thing he could do would be to go back on his word. No that was out of the question. Consistency was key. If he promised him a trip to Hogsmeade then he had to make sure they went and if he promised him a spanking then he had to deliver. The absolute worst thing he could do would be to let this slide.

No, tonight Sirius was going to spank his godson as he never had before and he was going to make sure that Harry remembered it for the rest of his life.

And then without giving his actions another thought, he picked up a handful of floo powder and seconds late he was gone.

* * *

Harry sat on the edge of his bed as he fought with himself. He had been swallowing the lump in his throat ever since he and Sirius had started talking and it was threatening to explode at any moment causing his tears to start falling. He refused to let it though. He was determined to keep himself composed at least until his punishment began. He was feeling absolutely horrible with himself for causing his godfather so much pain, so much fear, so much worry and he wasn't going to make it worse by already crying before Sirius even came into his room.

Sirius had admitted to Harry that he didn't want to punish him. For many children in his predicament this would have been a window of opportunity, a chance to beg their way out of it, to offer up other punishments that they would be more than willing to comply with. However, that wasn't the case with Harry. Although he had thought about the other options his godfather had, he would never in a million years actually say any of them to Sirius. If anything Sirius' confession had only made Harry feel ten times worse. Not only had he put his godfather through hell and back now the man was forced to dole out a punishment that he really didn't want to dole out.

Not that Harry ever thought that Sirius really wanted to punish him. It was always more than obvious that his godfather hated every second of it. Even when, unlike tonight, his anger was evident he still seemed like he hated doing it.

And the lump in his throat wasn't the only thing he was fighting with his self over. He was trying to keep his thoughts on his present situation but they couldn't help but keep wandering back to the previous times he had been in trouble.

The last time he had been in major trouble had been when he and Ron flew the car. The spanking he had received that night had been the worse Sirius had ever doled out and Harry remembered his godfather's promise of the making that one seem like nothing if he ever put his life in danger again.

Sirius' threat kept creeping into his mind and he couldn't help but dread the moment that Sirius walked into his room.

And to make matters worse, this wasn't even the first time he had put his life in danger recently. It wasn't that long ago that Snape had caught him in the hospital wing in the middle of the night and delivered him to Sirius. Harry had been sure he was done for that night but he had hardly been punished. Thinking back on it now Harry realized that that night should have been a warning to listen to his godfather and keep him self out of danger. It should have been a warning to tell Sirius everything that had been going on. But of course this would dawn on him now when it was already too late.

Harry sighed to himself as he listened closely for any sounds of his godfather approaching but he heard none. He had been in his room for awhile now but he wasn't about to go looking for his godfather. Accepting his punishment was one thing, seeking it out was another all together.

* * *

Sirius stepped back into the living room and headed straight for his bedroom. Once there he placed what he had gone to collect on top of his dresser before picking up a book.

He could easily remember a dozen times he and James had been in trouble when he had lived with the Potters but there was one that stood out in his memory.

Sirius remembered the day perfectly, he and James had been at the Potters for the summer and they had been beside themselves with boredom. Of course they had tried to cure it by playing a few games of exploding snap and then later by flying around on their brooms however, those activities had only kept them occupied for a short time. It was then that James had suggested that they fly their brooms to go visit Remus. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had been out for the day and the boys were convinced that they would never get caught. After all Remus didn't live that far, just a few towns over and they were sure that they would be back before anyone realized they had even gone.

And they had gone and visited Remus and bragged to him about how they had flown to see him several times as the three friends played an un-even game of Quidditch. Unfortunately James and Sirius had stayed at Remus' a little too long though and when they left to venture home it was already quite dark out. They had gotten lost flying over the forest and by the time they had landed safely in the Potter's backyard James' parents were already home. Not only were they home but they were sick with worry over the boys.

After many tight hugs and kisses to their foreheads and cheeks Mr. Potter had gone very stern as he sent James to his room and Sirius to the guest room.

He came in lecturing more than Sirius had ever heard in his life and then the inevitable came. Mr. Potter was upset and the paddle he used to dole out the spanking made that very clear.

It was the worst spanking Sirius had ever received in his life and when it was over he promised himself that he would never, ever do anything to cause Mr. Potter to use the paddle on him again.

Sirius sighed softly absolutely hating himself as he transfigured the book into a small wooden paddle. Then taking a deep breath, he shoved the paddle into his back pocket and headed for his godson's room.

* * *

Harry was still sitting on the edge of the bed when he heard his door open. Turning his head slightly he saw his godfather walk into the room.

Sirius crossed the room and grabbed Harry's desk chair placing it in front of his godson and depositing him self into it. He watched his godson fidget uncomfortably and vowed that though he had to do this he wouldn't drag it out any longer than he needed to.

"Harry," he spoke softly and Harry immediately raised his head and looked his godfather in the eye.

"Is there anything else you want to say for yourself?"

Harry shook his head sadly. He had said everything he could, everything he needed too.

"Alright then, let's get this over with."

Slowly Harry stood and approached his godfather. Once he was close enough Sirius gently took his wrist and guided him over his lap. When Harry was positioned he reached into his back pocket and retrieved the small paddle. It was so light in his hand and Sirius couldn't believe that something so little could sting so much, but he knew from experience that indeed it could.

Harry instantly squeezed his eyes closed as tight as he could and grabbed a handful of his godfather's pant leg.

Sirius sucked in his breath as he prepared to do what he was about to do and then in one quick motion he grabbed a hold of the waistband of his godson's pajamas and pulled them down just as far as they needed to go. He didn't want to do it, he hated himself for doing it, but if he was going to spank his godson the way he planned to he had to be sure that he wasn't seriously hurting the boy.

Sirius heard Harry make a muffled sound as he realized what had just happened. It was at that moment that Sirius wanted to pull his godson's pants back up give him one good hard smack and send him off to bed but he wouldn't, he couldn't.

Instead Sirius raised the paddle high and brought it down hard on his godson's bottom.

The moment the paddle made contact with Harry the tears started to fall though Sirius guessed it had more to do with everything that had gone on that day then the actual spanking. Sirius knew he was being hard on Harry but he also knew that in the past his godson had gone much longer without shedding a single tear and surely the paddle didn't hear that much more than his hand...but then again, he wasn't on the receiving end of it.

Sirius thought about lecturing but he had already said everything he needed to and so he let the paddle do all the talking. He raised his arm over and over as his godson's bottom began to turn a light red.

Harry was sobbing hard and begging his godfather to stop and it was taking everything Sirius had in him to ignore his sobs and pleas and continue the task at hand.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity to Sirius he couldn't take it anymore. He wasn't sure how many spanks he had doled out but he was sure it wasn't much more then his normal twenty he was also sure by the dark red color of his godson's bottom that he was done.

Sirius dropped the paddle onto the floor next to him and pulled Harry's pajama pants back up, careful to make as little contact with his skin as he had to.

Harry was sobbing deeply as Sirius began rubbing his back and Sirius prayed he hadn't been too hard on the boy. He prayed his godson wasn't going to resent him or fear him as a result of this.

Sirius allowed Harry to cry over his lap for a long time before he righted him so that he was sitting on his knees.

Harry instantly wrapped his arms around his godfather's neck, burying his face into his chest as he sobbed. Sirius knew he should say something but he couldn't find his voice so instead he began to rub Harry's back once more.

"I'm sorry," Harry finally choked the words out after an eternity of tears.

"It's okay, it's all over now," Sirius reassured him, "I love you...you know that Pup...I love you so much."

Harry nodded into Sirius' chest. "I love you too, I never meant to make you worry or make you scared or make you have to spank me. I'm so sorry Sirius."

Sirius swallowed his own tears as he hugged his godson. "It's okay Harry, its okay. You are forgiven for all of it but never again you hear me?"

Harry nodded into his chest once more unable to speak at all.

The two of them sat like that for a long time before Harry's tears stopped. He was sure he looked an absolute mess, like an absolute baby, but he didn't care. All he cared about was being sure that Sirius forgave him for all of this.

He brushed a stray tear off his face as he looked at his godfather. "I really am sorry Sirius."

"I know you are and I'm sorry I had to be so hard on you but this is one lesson that you've absolutely got to get through your head Harry…your life is far too precious to risk it over something that you easily could have gotten help with."

Harry nodded.

"It's late Pup, why don't you get into bed and I'll be right back alright?"

Harry nodded in agreement as he slid off his godfather's lap.

Sirius watched Harry wince as his bottom made contact with his mattress before he removed his glasses and rolled onto his stomach.

"I'll be right back to tuck you in," Sirius promised as he exited the room.

Harry tried to get comfortable as he heard his godfather go into his room and then down the stairs but his bottom just hurt too much for him to think about sleeping anytime soon, his bum just plain ached. Deep down he knew he deserved every bit of the spanking he had just received but he still couldn't help but wish that his godfather hadn't spanked him quite so hard.

He heard Sirius walk back into his room and he was expecting to feel the covers being tucked in around him any moment.

"Can you sit up?" Sirius asked.

Harry rolled over careful not to put too much weight on his bottom and carefully sat up.

"Here," Sirius offered him a cup.

"What's this?" Harry asked as he took the cup into his hands.

"Just drink it," Sirius replied a stern look about him and Harry noticed that his godfather was holding a second cup in his hand.

After everything that had just happened Harry knew better than to argue and so he brought the cup to his mouth and drank. Instantly he tasted a horrible, thick liquid and made a face bringing the cup away from his mouth.

"All of it," Sirius commanded.

"Is this part of my punishment?" Harry asked.

"In a way yes," Sirius replied in a no-nonsense voice, "Now drink it Harry."

Taking a deep breath Harry brought the cup back up to his lips and tipping his head back he drank the disgusting liquid down as quickly as he could. Once the cup was empty he handed it back to Sirius and his godfather handed him the second cup.

Harry peered into it a fearful look on his face. "Sirius I promise I'll **never **do anything like what I did today again, just please don't make me drink this."

Sirius sighed and Harry took note that the stern look on his face hadn't diminished at all but rather it had gotten worse.

"Drink Harry."

Harry looked into the cup to see another nasty looking liquid.

"Please Sirius," he all but begged, "You can take my broom away or ground me...you can spank me again just please don't make me drink this."

"Don't be ridiculous Harry James", Sirius replied sternly, "drink it."

Harry sighed heavily to himself before he obeyed and quickly drank down the second cup gagging slightly as he handed it back to his godfather.

"Thank you," Sirius replied.

"What was that?" Harry asked noticing that a small smile was appearing on his godfather's lips.

"The first one was a sleeping drought a potion intended to make sure you sleep tonight and don't think too much about the events that happened today and the second was a potion that you should be feeling the effects of in a few moments, it's designed to take away pain."

Harry sat in confusion for a moment before he slowly realized what his godfather had just said and once he had his confusion didn't vanish but rather multiplied.

"But...but I put my life in danger."

Sirius nodded as he sat down on the edge of his godson's bed. "Yes", he agreed, "You did and you absolutely deserved that spanking you just received however, considering that you put your life in danger to save Ginny's life I don't feel that you deserve to remain in pain. You felt the spanking and now I'll allow it to go away. I told you before that a part of me didn't want to punish you at all and the part of me that knew you deserved a punishment was having a hard time with it as well so I decided that yes you would be punished and severely but I'd take the pain away once it was over. Besides I think that everything you went through today was punishment in a way as well. And I am pretty convinced you learned your lesson."

Harry couldn't help the smile that rapidly spread across his face. "Thanks Sirius."

"You're welcome," Sirius returned the smile and then his face went stern once more, "However don't for one second think that this is going to happen every time you get into trouble Harry James, these are special circumstances."

"No I understand," Harry quickly replied, "And I **did** learn my lesson I swear I did."

Sirius smiled, "I figured you had."

"How did you know how to make the potions? Can you teach me? Or did you buy them or something?"

Sirius chuckled at his godson's curiosity, "Tomorrow Pup, tomorrow I'll tell you all about it that sleeping drought should be hitting you any moment and your behind should start to feel better so get some sleep and tomorrow we'll talk."

"Okay," Harry agreed as he fell back onto his pillow.

Sirius leaned over and tucked the covers up around his godson, "Good night Pup, I love you."

"Love you too," Harry answered through a yawn, "Night."

**TBC...**


	31. Chapter 31

**Author's Note: FOr those of you who didn't see my previous note which is now deleted...I apologize for taking so long to update this. I had the flu (twice) and my newest niece was born this past week. Hopefully now my life will get back to normal and I'll be updating pretty regularly again as I've completely decided exactly where I want to go with this story so I'm pretty excited to get it written.**

**As always thank you to everyone who has reviewed, I've been trying to get better about replying to you all but sometimes I just forget, however, I do appreciate every single review I get.**

**Enjoy!**

**Mira**

* * *

There was a loud boom of thunder and as lightning illuminated the room Harry's eyes flickered open. His first thought was that the sleeping drought didn't work because judging by the darkness in his room it was the middle of the night. He yawned once before rolling over on his side and picking up his glasses. Placing them onto his face he glanced at the clock and then instantly jumped up.

It was after eleven in the morning! Harry hadn't slept so well in days, weeks possibly, But why hadn't Sirius woke him? After all his godfather had most likely been up for hours now so why didn't he wake Harry to join him for breakfast?

Harry yawned once more, stretching his arms high above him, before rolling out of bed as he changed out of his pajamas the events of the previous day crept into his head.

Maybe that was it. Maybe he was grounded to his room today. It wasn't unusual for his godfather to decide that when he really messed up he needed to spend some time alone, confined to his room. Harry guessed this was to think about what he had done, though he rarely thought about that, he usually spent his time in his room thinking about how horrible it was that he was stuck in his room.

The lightning illuminated his room once more as Harry weighed his options. He could stay in his room and wait for Sirius to come get him or he could just go find his godfather and ask him if he was grounded or not and in his opinion the better option was going to find his godfather. After all, maybe if he presented the question Sirius would feel his was being responsible about the situation and let him stay downstairs. Then again, maybe not…but it was worth the shot.

Slowly Harry made his way down the stairs. His stomach growled as a sweet aroma traveled from the kitchen and hit his nose just as his foot landed on the first floor.

Sirius was standing in the kitchen flipping pancakes when he heard his godson enter the room.

"Morning," he greeted him as he quickly served up a plateful of pancakes and placed them at his godson's spot.

Harry slid into his seat as he smiled widely, "This smells great."

Sirius returned the smile as he turned back to the griddle pouring some more batter onto it. "I figured that after yesterday we could both use some comfort food."

Harry poured syrup onto his plate and cut his pancakes as he carefully chose his words. "Sirius?"

"Hmmm?"

"Do I...do I have to stay in my room today?"

Sirius was quiet for several moments as he continued to flip his pancakes before serving them onto his plate. He turned around slowly holding his plate in his hand as he made his way towards the table.

"No," he finally answered as he took his seat, "You and I have a lot to talk about today…there is a lot I want to talk about and I don't feel that sending you to your room for the day will do either of us any good."

Harry looked up at his godfather with worried eyes.

"You aren't in trouble anymore Pup," Sirius spoke softly, "There are just some things I feel we need to discuss."

"Okay," Harry replied as he took a bite of his pancakes.

"But for now let's just have a nice breakfast and then we'll deal with everything else."

And they did. Breakfast went wonderfully and Harry was thankful that his godfather seemed to be in a great mood. Sirius didn't break up anything that happen the day before instead the two discussed the upcoming Quidditch match against Slytherin as well as the plans for the Christmas holiday.

"I really do think it's a brilliant idea to celebrate with the Weasley's."

"I agree," Sirius smiled as he ate the last bite of his breakfast, "When Arthur and Molly suggested it I thought it was a wonderful idea, the holidays are about those you care for after all and I'm sure Remus will join us as well."

"Do you think Ginny's okay?" Harry dared to bring up the previous days events.

"I think she's fine," Sirius smiled kindly, "Madam Pomfrey said there was no permanent damage as you know and she is home with her family so yes Pup I think she is doing just fine."

Harry nodded as he finished the last of his pancakes and his godfather immediately cleared the table depositing the dirty dishes into the sink.

"How about we go sit in the living room?" Sirius asked though it was clear to Harry that it wasn't a question that was up for debate.

Once in the living room Sirius relaxed in his arm chair as Harry sat on the couch.

Sirius instantly noticed his godson's nervousness. It was written in everything from his face to the rigid way he was sitting.

"I promise you Pup you aren't in any trouble at all," Sirius stated kindly, "I just feel that you and I need to discuss some things...some things that we briefly touched on last night."

"Are you still mad?" Harry asked in a soft voice.

"No...I was never really mad, I was more upset. I know you had your reasons for the decisions you made in the last few weeks. I understand that you were feeling angry with me and I'm sure frustrated with the voice you were hearing and scared about the things that were taking place and I'm sure that only intensified once Hermione was petrified."

Harry nodded.

"But regardless of all those things Harry you have got to learn that lying is not okay and I know you know this. I know you realize that it isn't okay to lie but sneaking around is basically the same thing."

"I know it is," Harry replied.

"I want you to look at it from my perspective Pup, if you lie to me all the time I'll eventually start to feel as if I can't trust you and I know you don't want that do you?"

"No," Harry agreed. He knew he didn't want that at all.

"And if I can't trust you then it comes to the point where I can't trust anything you say and the last thing I ever want is to get angry with you or punish you because I think you are lying to me when in reality you are telling the truth. Can you understand that?"

"Yeah I understand," Harry nodded, "And I didn't mean to lie...I really didn't Sirius. I just...I didn't want to get in trouble for anything."

Sirius sighed softly, "Trust me Pup if you come to me and tell me something before lying to me about it, you will never get into trouble for that or at least not nearly as much trouble as you could find yourself in for lying."

"I'm sorry I lied to you."

"It's okay I just...I need it to stop. I need you to be honest with me...always. Harry I know you are an amazing wizard for your age...I am constantly amazed by your talent. Just yesterday you defeated Voldermort once again and I can promise you that at your age I would have never been able to dream of doing such a thing but part of being powerful is trusting people enough to allow them to help you when you need it. I know you are aware of how differently things could have gone if you had trusted an adult and told them about the voice and the Chamber but aside from that there will be situations in the future that are very much the same and I need you to know that you can always come to me and tell me anything."

"I do know that."

"Yet you didn't," Sirius noted softly.

"I guess I probably should have told you about Dobby right away but we had that big argument over the plate and then when he visited the other times I figured that if I told you about them I'd have to tell you about the first time and you would know I lied."

"But you would have been confessing Harry and long before anything happened with the Chamber."

Harry nodded softly, "I messed up pretty big yesterday."

"Yes," Sirius responded, "and no. You did what you felt was necessary and unfortunately that resulted in your life being in danger and so I had to do what I felt was necessary. But you saved Ginny Pup, and that's a remarkable thing. You put her life in front of your own and I don't know many people your age...or at all...that would have done that." Sirius sighed softly, "I'm sounding like a broken record here...I guess all I really want here is for you to understand how important it is for you to be honest with me always."

"I understand that," Harry nodded.

"And at the risk of sounding like a boring old Professor can you tell me what you learned from all this?" Sirius asked forcing himself to hold back his smile and keep his stern demeanor.

"I shouldn't lie to you," Harry replied in a soft voice as he picked at a fray on the couch, "And when things happen I need to trust you and tell you about them and get help if I need to and I can't ever put my life in danger."

"Very good," Sirius nodded, "And I expect you to apologize to several people first thing when you get back to Hogwarts."

"Remus," Harry nodded.

"Yes as well as Dumbeldore, Professor McGonagall, and Snape."

Harry sighed to himself as he nodded in agreement. The last thing he wanted to do was apologize to Snape.

"Good," Sirius smiled softly, "Now what are we going to do stuck inside in the rain all day?"

Harry shrugged, "Want to play a game of chess?"

"Actually," Sirius responded a smile overtaking his face, "There's something I've been meaning to show you and today may just be the day for it. Just give me one second Pup."

Harry watched as his godfather jumped up and practically ran towards the stairs; seconds later he reappeared with an old looking box.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

Sirius smiled as he sat down in the middle of the living room floor and patted the carpet next to him.

Harry scooted off the couch dropping to the floor and inching towards his godfather.

"Go ahead and look in it."

Harry peered up at Sirius for some sort of clue as to what he would find but aside from a huge smile on his godfather's face there were no clues. Slowly Harry opened the box and pulled out a piece of paper from the top.

It took him all of a second to realize what he was holding.

"My birth certificate," he practically whispered the words, "I never even knew I had one of these."

"Look at how tiny your feet were," Sirius smiled pointing to the bottom of the paper were two small footprints were shown in ink.

"I can't believe I was ever that small."

Harry smiled down at his birth certificate for several moments before reaching back into the box and pulling out a stack of photos.

He looked down at the one on the top to see a photo of him self, only a few months old lying in his crib. The next few were more of just him, at different stages of his infanthood, sitting in a high chair, or sleeping, or crawling.

And then he reached the photo that literally made him suck in his breath. A picture of him, very tiny sound asleep on his mother's chest as she too slept.

"You used to sleep like that a lot," Sirius smiled, "Your mum would lie down with you and within seconds you would both be out cold."

Harry stared at the picture for a moment longer before moving onto the next which was of him on his father's shoulders, laughing widely.

"You loved when your dad would do that you would just laugh and laugh."

Harry smiled as he moved onto the last photo, one of dad, and his mum holding him in his lap as the three of them sat on a couch.

"I took this picture your mum wanted a family photo."

"Thanks for showing me these Sirius."

"You're very welcome Pup and you can keep them if you like, I've really just been saving them for you all these years."

* * *

"Your grandparents were sick with worry when they came home and found us gone and we got into plenty of trouble though your grandfather didn't give us any potions to ease the pain."

"You promised last night you'd tell me where the potions came from," Harry suddenly remembered.

"I did," Sirius nodded, "After you went up to your room I did some thinking and then flooed over to Hogwarts where I retrieved the potions."

Harry felt the blood drain from his face. "From who?"

"Snape."

"Sirius!" Harry whined loudly.

"Relax Pup, I told him that you were sound asleep and that they were both for me. That I needed something to aid my sleep and that I was in pain from moving rocks down in the chamber, I promise you that I didn't tell him anything about what they were really for."

"But why couldn't you just make them yourself or ask Remus?"

"I could have made them myself but the potion that relives pain needs to brew for about a week before its ready so clearly there wasn't time for that and since I had to go to retrieve that it was just easier to get a sleeping aid as well."

Harry scowled at his godfather, "Snape isn't stupid, he probably knows."

"Snape knows nothing, I promise you. I would never embarrass you like that. As far as anyone else is concerned you came home this weekend so we could talk."

"People aren't that stupid, Remus knows and probably Snape too!"

"Harry," Sirius sighed softly, "Remus is my dearest friend and what he and I discuss stays solely between he and I and as for Snape I assure you he knows nothing and if he ever tries to act as if he does know something you just let me know immediately."

Harry half nodded. "I still wish you wouldn't have gone to Snape."

"If I wouldn't have gone to Snape I wouldn't have been able to get the potions and I'm sure you don't wish that I wasn't able to retrieve them."

"Well…no," Harry admitted.

"What's done is done Harry," Sirius shrugged, "And trust me when I say Snape has no idea."

* * *

It was late as Harry lied awake in his bed trying to force himself to feel tired. He and Sirius had had a great day together. After their talk that had spent the day basically longing around in the living room together and then Sirius made them a delicious supper and after supper they had their tea.

Sirius hadn't seemed mad or upset with Harry at all anymore and Harry couldn't have been more grateful for that. He knew that his godfather constantly told him that he'd always be forgiven but Harry had been worried this time. After all, he had never really done something like he had with the Chamber before. He had never really lied that much or for that long and he vowed to himself that he would never do it again.

He had hurt his godfather and made him worry and it wasn't a feeling Harry cared to experience again. It nearly broke his heart when he saw the tears in his godfather's eyes, as far as Harry was aware his godfather **never **cried.

He sighed as he rolled onto his side and starred out the window. It was still raining slightly but it seemed to be letting up a bit.

And Sirius had given him the potions, even though he was so upset and mad. Harry could admit to himself that he probably didn't deserve the second potion he had received but there was no way he would ever admit it to his godfather. He could obey Sirius when he knew he deserved to be punished and keep his attitude and comments to himself but there was just no way he would ever tell Sirius that he knew he didn't deserve the potion...there was just no way.

* * *

Harry smiled as he walked beside his godfather down Diagon Alley. He would be returning to Hogwarts in a few hours and he couldn't wait to see Ron and especially Hermione and Ginny but for now he was just enjoying the end of the weekend with his godfather.

When Sirius had first suggested going to Diagon Alley for a Quidditch pitch Harry had thought his godfather was going nutty and then after his punishment Harry hadn't brought it up. Honestly he just figured that Sirius had changed his mind about going or had just said that to make conversation and hadn't really meant it so Harry was more than surprised when his godfather woke him up early and told him to get ready to go.

"How about we get some lunch before hitting the Quidditch store?" Sirius suggested.

"Okay," Harry nodded in agreement as his godfather led the way to a café.

Sirius opened the door for Harry to enter before following his godson.

Once the two were seated at a table and had ordered their lunch Sirius cleared his throat causing Harry to glance up at him.

When he had left Harry in the hospital wing two days ago he had gone and spoke with Remus. Remus had been quick to express his displeasure for what Harry had done and even quicker to offer a dozen suggestions on just how Sirius should deal with his unruly godson but Sirius had been quick to dismiss them. However, he had also been quick to seek Remus' advice on another matter and after a few moments of discussion Remus agreed with Sirius that it certainty couldn't be a bad idea.

Sirius had argued with himself all weekend over whether or not he should talk to Harry about it. He hoped Harry would understand why this was so important and that he wouldn't scare his godson. However, he knew that if he expected Harry to always be honest with him, he had to be honest with Harry as well.

"Do you know what occlumency is?" Sirius asked in a soft voice.

Harry shook his head.

"Do you know what legilimency is? Or have you ever heard of it?"

Again his godson shook his head.

"Legilimency is pretty dark magic Harry and for that reason it usually isn't taught at Hogwarts. Legilimency is the ability to extract emotions and memories from another person's mind. Occlumency is the magic one uses to defend themselves against this, to close their mind off."

"Okay," Harry replied slowly.

"I wanted to discuss with you the possibility of you learning occlumency."

"Why?" Harry asked as their food appeared before them. "I mean why should I learn it?"

"Voldermort is known to be very skilled in legilimency Harry and I can't help but fear that in the future he may use that as an advantage over you."

"Like he could read my thoughts?"

"And use them to his advantage," Sirius nodded.

Harry took in this information as he chewed on his bottom lip. His fingers absentmindedly pushed his fork around his plate. He had forgotten to tell his godfather a huge piece of information and he prayed that Sirius would believe that he had really just forgotten and wouldn't think that he had been trying to lie to him about this.

"I forgot to tell you something," Harry admitted in a small voice.

"You forgot to tell me what?"

"I really forgot," Harry practically whispered in a desperate plea, "Honest Sirius I wasn't trying to lie about it! But when I heard the snake and when I saw Tom Riddle my scar hurt."

"What do you mean it hurt?" Sirius tried hard to keep any evidence of fear far from his voice.

"It hurt, like it burned. It was weird, I never felt it before."

Harry watched as his godfather sucked in his breath. He watched as Sirius sighed softly, a distressed look taking over his face.

"I really didn't mean not to tell you Sirius, I swear. Please don't be mad!"

"I'm not mad Pup," Sirius quickly replied jerking his head up so that his eyes met his godson's. "I'm not mad at all, I promise you that. But please Harry if you ever feel any kind of pain in that scar again let me or another adult know immediately."

"I will," Harry nodded quickly relived that he wasn't in trouble, "I promise!"

"I mean to bring up occlumency just to see what you thought but now that you've told me this I really do feel like it's going to be absolutely necessary Pup."

"Who will teach it to me?"

"That I'm not sure of just yet, I'm going to have to discuss it with Dumbeldore and see what he thinks as your lessons will have to take place at Hogwarts. I'm sure he'll see the urgency behind teaching you however I'm not sure who is best for the job. "

"Can't you teach me?" Harry asked in a hopeful voice.

He could already see himself going home often for fun lessons with his godfather.

"No I can't, I never really learned how to do it myself and if you are going to learn Pup I want you to learn from the best."

Harry nodded as he ate a forkful of green beans.

"I'll try and talk to Dumbeldore about it today and if not today very soon and I'll let you know as soon as I know something."

**TBC...**


	32. Chapter 32

Author's Note: As always thank you so much for the kind reviews. I have mid-terms (exams) all next week so it may take me a little bit to get the next chapter up but I will try and hurry. Enjoy this one!

**Miranda**

* * *

It was close to supper time when Sirius and Harry arrived at Hogwarts through the floo in Remus' office. Remus was no where to be found as the two made their way into the hall.

"Go ahead," Sirius smiled as he noticed Harry's anxiousness to run off, "Go find your friends and enjoy your supper and afterwards make sure you remember about your apologies you need to make."

"I will," Harry promised.

"I know you will," Sirius nodded.

Harry quickly darted off before skidding to a stop and running back to his godfather and giving him a quick hug. "Thanks for this weekend...all of it," Harry almost whispered the words.

"You're very welcome Pup, I'll see you soon okay?"

Harry nodded as he felt his godfather ruffle his hair.

"Now go find Ron and Hermione!" Sirius laughed.

"Okay!"

Harry took off in a run once more heading for the Gryffindor tower.

"And for the love of Merlin stay out of trouble!" Sirius called after him chuckling as he did so.

Harry didn't stop running until he was in the common room. Sitting on the couch, a book under her nose was his best friend.

"Mione!" He all but shrieked.

"Harry!" The bushy haired girl smiled widely as she dropped her book and jumped up rushing into his arms.

"You figured it out and saved Ginny! I knew you would! I just knew it!"

"You helped loads," Harry smiled, "I found the note in your hand."

"I knew you would!"

Harry couldn't help but laugh at Hermione's excitement.

"Ron is supposed to be back tomorrow morning, Professor McGonagall told me so, and Ginny won't be back for a few days, I suspect her parents are nervous about sending her back but then I don't blame them. After all if it weren't for you and Ron...well, you know. Neville told me you went home with Sirius for the weekend. You aren't in trouble for going after Ginny are you? I hope you aren't but I guess I could understand if Sirius is mad. I was hoping you would be back today I still have a lot of homework to catch up on but I have most of it done so we can catch up for a bit tonight. And then..."

"Hermione!" Harry all but yelled.

"What?"

"It's good to have you back," Harry laughed. "I missed you."

* * *

Harry and Hermione sat together as they ate dinner. Harry couldn't help but notice the stares he was receiving from other students, mostly Slytherins.

"They think you are their heir because you opened the Chamber," Dean Thomas informed him as he helped himself to a second helping of beef.

"I'm not," Harry stated, "I'm just a parselmouth."

"Who cares what they think!" Hermione replied. "We have to talk after dinner; I want to know everything that I missed while I was petrified."

"I have to go see some people after dinner."

"Who?" Hermione asked before taking a sip of her pumpkin juice.

"Remus, Professor McGonagall, Dumbeldore, and Snape...I have to apologize to them," Harry admitted.

"Sirius is mad," Hermione stated in a knowing voice.

"Not anymore, but yeah he was. He was real worried too."

"Of course he was, he loves you," Hermione stated simply.

"But after I go see them all we can talk," Harry promised.

* * *

Harry slowly made his way down to the dungeons. He had purposely saved Snape for last on his list of people to apologize too. He had already gone to see Dumbeldore who had thanked him for his help in saving Ginny's life and Professor McGonagall who had scolded him briefly on his recklessness although Harry was sure he could see the pride in her eyes and he could tell her heart wasn't really into scolding him.

Remus had surprised him the most. Harry had just left his office and he had expected Remus to be hard on him. Remus may have smiled at him when he had left with Sirius for the weekend but Harry was certain that had only been because he knew what Harry's fate was. However, he was back at school now and Harry had been prepared for Remus to yell at him, or punish him with detention or taking away points or worse of all make good on the promise he had made when Harry had flown the car.

Remus hadn't done any of those things though. He had asked Harry to have a seat and then very calmly, yet sternly expressed his concerns about Harry going into the Chamber and once he was sure he had gotten his point across and after he had promised Harry several times that he wasn't angry with him he gave the boy a hug and much to soon for Harry's liking, sent him off to find Snape.

Harry paused in front of the Potion Professor's door as he chewed on his bottom lip. He was simply dreading this but he knew he had no choice. After everything that had happened over the weekend the last thing he was going to do was disobey his godfather.

Quickly, before he could give the matter any more thought and change his mind, Harry knocked on the large door.

"Enter," Snape's voice replied as the door opened.

Taking a deep breath before he did so, Harry pushed the door open to see Snape sitting at his desk staring straight ahead of him.

"Professor Snape?" Harry could hear the shakiness of his voice and he hated himself for it.

"Mr. Potter?"

"I just…I wanted to apologize to you for going into the Chamber…I know it was stupid."

"Indeed it was," Snape's voice hissed.

_Merlin, _Harry thought, _does he have to make this so hard!_

"So I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," Harry muttered the words.

"You are sorry for what?"

Harry looked up at Snape as if he had grown another head.

"For going into the Chamber," Harry replied in a confused voice.

"You absolutely are not sorry for doing so Potter, you are merely sorry you were caught doing so as any foolish child would be. I do not doubt you have given absolutely no thought to the amount of worry you distilled in many people nor are you likely to have given adequate thought to the very real possibility that you could have died down in that Chamber as could have Mr. Weasley who you invited to accompany you."

"I am sorry!" Harry argued his nervousness and fear now long forgotten. "And I didn't invite Ron to come with me, he wanted to come, he wanted to try and save his sister!"

"Do not raise your voice at me," Snape hissed in a way that made Harry wish the floor would just swallow him up.

"I am sorry Professor," Harry repeated in a much calmer, lower tone.

"I promised you when you flew that car clear across Muggle London that I would be keeping an eye on you but perhaps I haven't been doing a well enough job. I also made you the promise that if you were to find yourself in trouble again you would surely regret it and therefore Mr. Potter you may report to me for detention for the next three nights."

"But that's not fair!"

"Fair Mr. Potter? What is not fair is that this entire school was in an uproar because you felt the need to play the hero once more now you can accept my punishment or we can turn three nights of detention into three weeks of detention, the choice is solely yours."

The amount of anger that took over Harry's body at that moment almost scared him. He wanted nothing more than to yell and scream and throw things and tell this greasy git exactly what he thought of him. And if this had happened a year ago he probably would have but now he couldn't…he wouldn't.

"I'll be here for detention tomorrow night." Harry replied as he tried to steady his breathing.

Snape raised an eyebrow.

"Sir," Harry added hastily.

"Directly after dinner Mr. Potter and unlike Professor Lupin I expect you to eat your dessert in a timely manner."

Harry bit down hard on his bottom lip to keep himself from spewing a million words, none of which were anywhere near acceptable.

"A verbal answer," Snape hissed.

"Yes Sir." Harry forced the words out of his mouth.

* * *

By the time Harry made it back to the Gryffindor common room he was absolutely fuming. Along the way he had muttered a variation of colorful words under his breath as he decided that he would use his mirror to speak to Sirius about this tonight.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked the moment she spotted him.

"I have to talk to Sirius right now," Harry replied without taking a moment to stop or even slow down.

Hermione immediately jumped up out of her seat leaving her school books scattered on the table in front of her.

"What happened?" She asked as she followed Harry up the stairs to the boy's dormitories.

"Snape," Harry replied.

Harry walked towards his trunk and threw open the lid rummaging around for the mirror.

"What did Snape do?" Hermione asked as she took a seat on the edge of Ron's bed.

Harry pulled the small mirror out of the bottom of his trunk and without bothering to answer Hermione looked into it and spoke, "Sirius!"

Hermione looked up at her best friend with a worried face.

Several moments passed and Harry was about to say his godfather's name once more when Sirius's face appeared in the small mirror.

"Harry? What's wrong? What happened?"

"I went to apologize to Snape and he was really mean to me," Harry explained trying to keep his voice from whining, "He gave me detention for the next three nights and he told me that I'm not really sorry I went into the Chamber I'm just sorry I got caught! He said I was just trying to be a hero! And he gave me detention Sirius!"

Harry could see his godfather's face change in the way it did when he was about to say something Harry wouldn't like.

"He shouldn't have said that about you not being sorry Pup or about you just trying to be a hero but he is a teacher and he has every right to give you detention if he thinks the situation warrants it."

"But Sirius…"

"I'm not saying that what he did was nice or even fair but please try to understand Harry whether he wants to admit it or not I am sure he was very worried about you and you did break several school rules and so I can understand why he would give you detention."

"But he was so mean to me," Harry replied in a small voice.

"I'm sorry he was," Sirius said softly, "But that may just be his way of dealing with the situation. Don't mistake what I am saying it may not be right but everyone deals with things in there own way."

"So I have to go to his detentions?"

"Yes you most certainly do. Did you honestly think I would tell you that you could skip them?"

"No," Harry admitted softly, "I just…he makes me so mad…he hates me."

"He does not hate you Harry, I promise you that."

Harry wanted to argue that Snape definitely did in fact hate him but he decided to drop it at the moment and changed the subject instead.

"Did you talk to Dumbeldore about those lessons?"

"I spoke with him this afternoon yes, he is going to get back to me about it in the next day or so and then I'll let you know what the decision is."

"Okay."

"Is there anything else you wanted to speak to me about?"

"No," Harry replied, "Just about what a greasy git Snape is."

"Harry," Sirius replied in a warning tone though Harry could clearly see his godfather struggling to hold back his smile.

"Sorry," Harry whispered. He could feel his face growing warm as he realized that Hermione was still sitting inches away from him and clearly just heard his godfather scold him.

"Go catch up with your friends and I'll floo over to Hogwarts as soon as I know what's going on with the lessons alright?"

"Alright."

"Goodnight Pup," Sirius smiled.

"Night."

"Snape said you aren't sorry?" Hermione asked the moment Harry deposited the mirror back into his trunk.

"Yeah, he said I was only sorry I got caught!"

"Well isn't the kind of true?" Hermione asked. "I mean honestly Harry if you would have saved Ginny and everything without ever being caught would you be sorry you did it?"

"Well no," Harry admitted, "But I am sorry that I made Sirius worry and Remus too and I am sorry that I put my life into danger."

"Because you got caught," Hermione noted, "If you wouldn't have they wouldn't have worried and no one would have known your life was in danger."

"Why are you siding with Snape?" Harry asked in an annoyed voice.

"I'm not! Snape is horrible for saying that to you! And I don't think it's fair that he gave you detention for this, if someone felt you deserved a detention then it should have been Professor Dumbeldore or maybe even Professor McGonagall but not Snape. You know I am not siding with Snape, I was just saying…nevermind. What lessons were you asking Sirius about?" The young witch quickly changed the subject.

"Sirius wants me to learn occlumency or something."

"Occlumency isn't taught at Hogwarts, it's really dark stuff. It's used to protect your mind from outside intrusion."

"I know…how do you know?"

"I read," Hermione replied simply, "Why does Sirius want you to learn it and who is going to teach it to you?"

"Because he's afraid Voldemort will try and get into my mind and he wants me to know how to stop him and I don't know who is going to teach me yet."

"Maybe Dumbeldore will it's well known that he's very skilled with it."

"It is?" Harry asked.

"Honestly Harry have you ever even opened 'Hogwarts, A History'?"

"I've opened it!"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at her friend, "It will actually most likely be Dumbeldore that will teach you, not very many are highly skilled with occlumency and I'm pretty sure he's the only one at Hogwarts that is."

Harry couldn't help the smile that was forming on his face, private lessons with Dumbeldore sounded amazing to him.

* * *

Harry and Hermione were just coming out of their first class of the day which happened to be Muggle Studies when Hermione shrieked loudly causing Harry to nearly drop his books.

"Ron!" She yelled rushing down the hallway and all but throwing herself into his arms.

"Hey Hermione," the red head smiled as Harry ran over to join them.

"How's Ginny?" Harry asked.

"She's okay, doing good, mum wants to keep her home for a few more days, let her rest and recover but she's really okay I reckon she loves this little vacation."

Harry smiled at his best mates words. He had been very worried that Ginny was still in pain and suffering or that she was still a mess blaming herself for all of it and he was glad to hear Ron's description of her.

"I tried to talk mum into letting me stay home with her," Ron continued, "But she made me come back today and just in time for Ancient Runes too."

"I don't know how the two of you cannot simply love that class," Hermione smiled, "It's my favorite."

"That's because you're mental."

"I am not mental Ronald!"

Harry smiled as he watched his two friends bicker in front of him. It was so nice to have things back to normal, back to the way they should be.

* * *

Harry ate his supper that night in a timely manner, as Snape would have put it, and then headed for the Potions classroom dreading his detention more and more with each step. Unlike Hermione, Ron had completely understood how awful Snape was for saying the things he said and giving him detention. Ron even mentioned that he was thankful his parents hadn't instructed him to apologize to the greasy git.

Feeling very sorry for his own misfortune Harry raised his hand and knocked once on the large door.

The door immediately opened on its own and Harry walked in to find Snape sitting at his desk hunched over essays. In the middle of the room, at the desk directly in front of Snape's was a stack of parchment and a quill.

_Lines_, Harry groaned to himself.

"Have a seat Mr. Potter," Snape's voice hissed.

As slowly as he dared Harry walked up the aisle and deposited himself into the seat that was clearly meant for him.

"I had originally planned to have you help me with some cleaning tonight but after your childish outburst last night I decided that it may be a more suitable punishment to have you compose an essay."

"An essay Sir?" Harry fought to keep the annoyed tone out of his voice. He had absolutely not had a childish outburst!

"Indeed", Snape nodded, "I expect a well written essay on my desk in no less than an hour on exactly why you are sorry for what you did."

Harry felt the blood drain from his face. He couldn't tell Snape why he was sorry! First of all it was none of his business. And if he told Snape why he was sorry he would have to tell him all about upsetting Sirius and as far as Harry was concerned that was private!

"But Sir…"

"Mr. Potter before you open your mouth I would like to make it perfectly clear to you that any excuse you have will be of no good to you. You will be writing this essay tonight and if you fail to do so you will come to detention every single night until you have. Am I clear?"

"Yes Sir," Harry replied through gritted teeth.

"You may begin."

Harry picked up the quill and slouched over the paper. He was half tempted to tell Snape he wasn't really sorry and see what the greasy git had to say then and he was even more tempted to just get up and walk out but he knew neither would do him any good. Sirius had said that he had to serve his detention and so he had no choice but to write the essay.

Thirty minutes had passed and Harry was trying hard to explain how he was sorry for causing people worry and fear when he heard a loud pop. He stole a glance up to see a small house elf speaking quietly with Snape.

"Very well," Snape said before the elf disappeared.

"It appears Mr. Potter that Professor Dumbeldore needs to speak with me, can I trust you to sit and continue working until I return or do I need to use a binding spell to make sure you don't wander off."

"No Sir," Harry replied, "I'll keep working."

"See to it that you do."

* * *

"Did it ever occur to you that you expect too much of people?" Snape asked in an annoyed voice. "That perhaps I do not have the extra time to assist James Potter's son with anything!"

"He is Lily's son as well Severus and it would mean a great deal to me if you would assist him with these lessons. I know you are concerned for Harry's safety as well."

"And if I refuse?"

"You most certainly may refuse," Dumbeldore replied calmly, "I am not forcing you to do anything however, if you refuse and Voldemort does invade his mind I dare say you may regret it."

Snape scowled at the old wizard sitting across from him.

"How often am I going to have to give him lessons?"

"I think once a week would be adequate."

"I suppose I can accommodate my schedule to allow for weekly lessons but someone had better speak with Potter first. I will not put up with his unruly behavior or his cheeky attitude."

"I will have Sirius speak with him prior to his first lesson," Dumbeldore nodded kindly, "I also think it wise to allow Sirius the duty of informing Harry of these lessons."

"And the moment he acts out I am done with them!"

"Absolutely Severus."

* * *

Snape stormed back into the Potions room causing Harry to jump as the door slammed shut behind him.

"Is that essay done yet Potter?"

"Yes Sir," Harry replied glad that he had finished while Snape was gone.

Snape walked past Harry's desk taking the essay with his as he did. After sitting himself in his chair he looked up at Harry.

"I am going to read this now and if it is to my liking then you may go."

Harry sucked in his breath as he prayed to any and all higher powers that he could think of that it would be to his liking. After all he had been sure to include every possible detail he could on exactly why he was sorry.

To Harry, an eternity went by as Snape read. The clock was ticking louder then he had ever heard it do in the past and the silence around it was deafening.

Finally after several long moments Snape dropped the essay onto his desk.

"You are dismissed Potter."

Without speaking a word Harry got up and quickly hurried out of the classroom.

**TBC...**


	33. Chapter 33

**Author's Note: This chapter is a little shorter but I promise the next one will be packed full of a lot of action...I just really didn't want to leave you guys with a cliff hanger because my mid-terms start Monday so I probably won't find time to update this week.**

**As always thank you so very much for all the reviews, private messages, and adds...I really do appreciate them all!**

**Enjoy!**

**Miranda**

* * *

"I'm not sure that this is the best idea," Sirius said keeping his voice as calm and even as he possibly could. "Severus can be quite tough on his students Harry is actually convinced that he hates him. I just don't feel that having him teach Harry is the best option."

"It is the only option Sirius," Dumbeldore spoke plainly, "Severus is highly skilled at occlumency and I assure you that his teaching Harry could only benefit Harry greatly. I can also assure you that their lessons will be perfectly fair to Harry, I will see to that. I am aware that Severus can be demanding to his students however, I will speak with him and be sure that he is aware that he is not to be quite so hard on Harry."

"You must know how much I respect and admire you…"

"Thank you my dear boy," Dumbeldore interrupted smiling kindly.

Sirius nodded in response before continuing. "And if you feel that this is the best route to go then of course I will agree with you but I want to be certain that you do speak with Severus and that he does not take his dislike of James out on Harry."

"You have my word that I will do so," Dumbeldore nodded, "And Severus wished for me to ask you to please speak with Harry and be sure that he is well behaved during these lessons."

"Of course Harry will behave himself."

"I didn't doubt that he would Sirius, I am only relaying a message. As far as I am concerned Harry is never anything less then a very well behaved, very polite child."

Sirius couldn't help but crack a smile at this comment. Of course he too thought his godson to be well behaved and polite, though not always. However, it was just like Dumbeldore to quickly dismiss all past transgressions and focus solely on the person you really were rather than the one you occasionally could be.

"I'll make sure he knows what is expected of him."

"And may I say you are doing an excellent job with him Sirius."

Sirius raised an eyebrow at the older wizard sitting across from him. "He just went into the Chamber of Secrets not even a week ago."

"Indeed he did, quite remarkable for his age that godson of yours is," Dumbeldore smiled, "And although he did break a few rules it was evident by the expression on his face when he exited the Chamber that he was deeply distraught over how you might react to his misbehavior and perhaps he was also distraught over having worried you so much…and that Sirius is a sign of a good parent if I ever saw one."

* * *

Harry was tired when he knocked on Remus' door. He had just finished a very long second detention with Snape that had consisted of him writing another essay, this one about what he could have done instead of going into the Chamber.

As far as Harry was concerned these essays were a waste of time. Snape knew that he had been home with Sirius all weekend. Did he really think that Sirius hadn't discussed with him just what he was sorry about? Did he really think that Sirius hadn't made him explain what he could have done instead of going into the Chamber? Or did he really think Sirius just let Harry do whatever he wanted and get away with murder?

Harry was inclined to agree with the last question. Snape's comment tonight had made it more than clear that that was exactly what he thought.

After Snape had explained the essay to Harry he had been quick to add that if he got himself into trouble in the future he would have far more than three detentions due to the fact that someone had to make sure he understood the consequences of his actions.

Harry head had been down when Snape had said this as he had already been busy beginning his essay and because Snape couldn't see he had rolled his eyes. Hadn't getting his bare arse whacked with a paddle been the consequence for his actions? Not to mention the look of disappointment his godfather had worn for hours?

"Come in," Remus' voice spoke.

Harry pushed the door open fighting a yawn as he did so.

His detention had been just about over when Snape received a message asking Harry to report to Remus as soon as he was done. Harry was actually surprised that the potions professor hadn't made a comment about the message interrupting his detention but he said negative about it at all and dismissed Harry ten minutes later.

"You wanted to see me?" Harry asked as he closed the door behind him.

"Sirius asked me to floo you home so he could speak to you about your lessons, he spoke with Dumbeldore earlier today," Remus explained.

"Do you know who is going to teach me?"

Remus shook his head though it was clear to Harry from his expression that he certainly did know. "Sirius does though, or I believe he does. But head on through the floo, he's expecting you."

Harry smiled as he walked towards the fireplace and picked up a handful of floo powder.

Sirius paced the living room as he waited for his godson to step through the floo. He knew his godson was not going to be happy with this situation but he prayed that he would at least be able to talk to him about it without Harry losing his temper though Sirius knew that the chance of that happening was slim to none. Nevertheless Sirius was determined to look at it from his godson's point of view and keep his own temper firmly in check regardless of how his godson acted.

"Hey Sirius!"

Sirius stopped pacing the minute he heard his godson's voice.

"Harry," he smiled walking up to him and enveloping him into a hug.

"Remus said you wanted to talk about my lessons."

Sirius nodded as he let go of his godson. "Why don't you sit down."

He waited until Harry was sitting on the couch before perching on the edge of his arm chair.

"Well Pup I talked to Dumbeldore and he agrees with me that you absolutely should learn occlumency. Despite the fact that Voldemort has never tried to invade your mind in that doesn't mean he wouldn't try in the future and he, like I, wants you to be fully prepared for anything that could come your way. Now there are two professors at Hogwarts that are highly skilled in occlumency and one of them happens to be Dumbeldore but unfortunately he can't do it. He is far too busy these days to take on the extra task of weekly lessons with you."

"So who is the other teacher?" Harry asked excitedly. He was racking his brain on who the other teacher could be and praying for Remus or even McGonagall.

Sirius paused for a moment contemplating the best way to break the news to his godson and then decided the easiest way to go would probably be to just say it…quickly.

"Snape."

Harry immediately jumped up from his seat on the couch, "Sirius, NO!"

"Look Pup I don't like it either but Dumbeldore has promised me that he will not mistreat you during these lessons and he is the best person for the job. He is very skilled at this Harry and…"

"No, no, no!" Harry shook his head, "I can't…I won't…he hates me and I hate him! I am not spending extra time with that greasy git!"

"Calm down Pup…just calm down and…"

"NO!" Harry yelled, "I am not going to calm down Sirius this is bull!"

"Harry James," Sirius said his name in a low voice and Harry immediately jerked his head in the direction of his godfather.

"I understand that you are upset," Sirius continued calmly, "But you need to stop and realize who you are speaking to right now."

Harry opened his mouth to talk and then closed it and took a deep breath before slowly opening it once more.

"Doesn't Dumbeldore realize that Snape hates me?" He asked in a much calmer, quieter voice.

"Snape does not hate you Pup and I told you, I spoke with Dumbeldore and he promised me that Snape will not mistreat you during these lessons."

"Why do you always stick up for him?"

"Because your mother would want me to," Sirius answered honestly, "She and Snape were very good friends, you know that."

Harry sighed as he sat back down on the couch.

"And what if I refuse to do these lessons? What if I just say I won't?"

"You will," Sirius replied calmly.

"But what if I won't?"

"You will because I am asking you too."

Harry sighed once more as he leaned back allowing his head to hit the back cushions of the couch.

Sirius sighed himself as he stood up and walked across the room taking a seat next to his godson.

"Harry I promise you nothing will go wrong with these lessons…the moment Snape is unfair to you even once you come and tell me and they will be done."

"Promise?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"Absolutely," Sirius nodded.

"And Dumbeldore said he would be nice."

"Dumbeldore promised he would."

"Okay," Harry nodded softly.

"Thank you Pup," Sirius smiled, "The lessons will start this week, tomorrow night I believe."

"I have detention with him tomorrow night," Harry noted aloud.

"I'm sure your detention will be replaced by a lesson. And I'm sure I don't need to remind you that I expect you to behave during these lessons as well."

"I know."

"He is doing us both a big favor by teaching you occlumency and I expect you to be nothing but completely respectful and well behaved or you and I will be having a discussion…understood?"

"Understood," Harry nodded as he felt his cheeks blush involuntarily.

It was no secret what his godfather meant by a discussion.

* * *

Harry walked into his dormitory expecting to be met by Ron asking a million and one questions all pertaining to why he was getting in so late but instead he discovered a quiet room. Everyone was fast asleep and Harry was thankful for it as he changed into his pajamas and climbed into his bed.

He was so tired that he expected he would fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow which is why he was so frustrated twenty minutes later as he tossed and turned.

Finally after forty minutes of trying to get comfortable and fall asleep he gave into his boredom and picked up his wand as well as some parchment off his bedside table.

Carefully and quietly he tapped the parchment with his wand.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he whispered the words.

Slowly the map of Hogwarts appeared on the parchment as Harry unfolded it. His eyes scanned the map carefully.

He saw Remus sitting at his desk, McGonagall asleep in her quarters, and Dumbeldore pacing his office in front of Snape.

"_Probably talking about me,"_ he thought to himself as he yawned.

Carefully he tapped the map once more.

"Mischief managed," he whispered the words before dropping the piece of parchment and his wand onto his bedside table and lying back on his pillow, his eyes closing the moment he touched it.

* * *

The next day went far too quickly for Harry's liking. As far as he was concerned it felt as if one moment he was sitting down eating breakfast with Ron and Hermione and the next he was standing outside of the potions classroom preparing to knock.

He still wasn't sure if he would be having his first occlumency lesson or if Snape would insist he complete his last detention and start the lessons a different night. Either way, he wasn't looking forward to it.

But he didn't really have a choice and he knew it. Besides if Snape was mean to him even once he was going to go straight to Sirius and then these lessons will be over and as far as Harry was concerned there was no way Snape would get through an entire night without being mean. No, these lessons would be over before they really even began.

Harry knocked once on the door to be met by it silently swinging open on its own.

He walked into the classroom prepared to find Snape sitting at his desk as he always was, but tonight his desk was empty, instead Snape was standing across from his desk at another door.

"Follow me Mr. Potter."

Harry followed the man through the door and into what appeared to be Snape's private quarters. Once there Snape crossed the room and picked up a stone basin placing it on a table. Carefully he raised his wand and placed the tip into the roots of his hair. When he pulled it out, a silvery substance came with it, which he then deposited into the basin before going back for more.

Harry watched him do this several times before he picked up the stone basin and returned it to the shelf.

Harry was about ready to explode with curiosity and he couldn't help but ask.

"What was that thing Professor?"

"That was a pensive. It is used to store memories so that they are no longer in your brain but rather in a safe place."

Harry raised an eyebrow in shock. He hadn't expected any answer at all let alone such a detailed one.

"Take you wand out Potter," Snape instructed as he turned to face Harry, his wand in his hand,

Quickly Harry removed his wand from his back pocket.

"You may use your wand to attempt to disarm me or defend yourself in any way you can."

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked frustrated with himself that he couldn't keep the nervousness out of his voice.

"I am going to attempt to break into your mind," Snape replied in a calm voice, "And we will see how well you do….Legilimens!"

Harry was not ready.

Harry was not ready at all.

Before he was even aware that Snape had struck the office began to sway and everything in his vision vanished. Image after image began appearing in his mind.

He was five watching Dudley ride his new red bicycle his heart burning with jealousy, he was ten getting beat up by Dudley's friends, he was sitting under the sorting hat and it was telling him he would do good in Slytherin, he was talking to Dumbeldore about meeting Sirius for the first time, he was standing under his cloak listening to the Order of the Phoenix meeting, he was talking to Sirius about what happened in the Chamber…

"_No_,_"_ said a voice in Harry's head, _"you're not watching that, you are not watching that…that is private!"_

He felt a sharp pain in his knees as Snape's living room came back into vision and he realized he was on his knees on the floor.

"Did you mean to produce a Stinging Hex?" Snape asked.

Harry looked up to see Snape rubbing his wrist before he got back up on his feet.

"No Sir."

"I thought not," Snape replied calmly, "You let me get in too far. You lost control."

"Did you see everything I saw?" Harry asked in a low voice. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Flashes of it," Snape replied, "And for a first attempt that was not as poor as it could have been. You need to repel me with your brain instead of resorting to your wand."

Harry was shocked by Snape's praise but still couldn't stop himself from responding loudly.

"You aren't telling me how!"

"Watch. Your. Cheek. Potter." Snape hissed, "Now close your eyes."

Harry sighed loudly before closing his eyes tightly. He wasn't at all comfortable with his eyes closed and Snape holding a wand but what choice did he have?

"I want you to clear your mind Potter," Snape said in a low voice, "Let go of all emotion."

Harry took a deep breath and tried to relax himself but he just couldn't, he was too annoyed at Snape for not telling him how to block his memories.

"You're not doing it," Snape hissed, "You need discipline Potter! Focus!"

Harry sighed softly as he tried to let go of his annoyance.

"Now let's try again…one…two…three…Legilimens!"

Once again Snape's living room disappeared. Harry was nine as Dudley chased him around the house threatening to beat him up…he was sitting in the great hall watching Ginny clutch the diary…Sirius was telling him he was grounded from his broom…

"NO!" Harry screamed and suddenly Snape's living room was back once more.

"You let me get in too far once again!" Snape shook his head. "You are not trying Potter. I told you that you need to repel me out of your mind before I see anything at all "

"I am trying," Harry argued in an annoyed voice, "It's not like I want you to see any of this!"

Snape was silent for a moment and Harry was sure he was about to be scolded once more for his attitude.

"That is enough for tonight," he finally spoke, "We will continue next week."

Harry said nothing as he headed for the door.

"You need to learn to control your emotions Potter," Snape said the words in a low voice, "That is your homework."

**TBC...**


	34. Chapter 34

**Author's Note: As always a big thanks for all the reviews, private messages, and add's...they are all much appreciated! I have two mid-terms left and then I'm off for winter break so hopefully I'll find time to write a lot then. **

**Enjoy this chapter and as always feedback is more than welcome!**

* * *

It was several nights later and Harry sat in his bed propped up on pillows listening to Ron mumble in his sleep. It was late and Harry should have been in bed hours ago but he just couldn't fall asleep. He had been half tempted to dig out his cloak and wander the castle for awhile, walking around in the castle in the dead of night always made him sleepy, but he knew he couldn't do that. The last thing he needed was to be caught wandering the castle at two in the morning.

Sighing to himself Harry pushed down his pillows allowing his head to fall back onto them. Rolling onto his side he reached over and picked up the map from his bedside table and tapped it whispering the correct words.

His eyes scanned over the castle. If he couldn't get out of bed and go for a walk, this was the next best thing. It seemed to be a quiet night though. All the teachers were in their quarters except for Filch who has wandering the hall by Myrtle's bathroom. Harry was about to close the map and his eyes when he saw a black dot that appeared to be running down the hall and then just as quickly as he read the name, the black dot went directly into a wall and disappeared.

Harry moved his glasses and quickly rubbed his eyes. No…it was impossible. He must have been overtired or imagining things. There was absolutely no way he just saw what he did. After all, if that person had a dot in Hogwarts it meant that they were actually there and that was impossible…that person was dead.

* * *

Harry yawned loudly as he sat at lunch the following afternoon. He had overslept and missed breakfast as well as the first half of History of Magic. Luckily when he head crept in the back of the room Professor Binns had been deep in a lecture about giant wars and hadn't even noticed that Harry snuck in, nor did he notice that he was there throughout the rest of the class. Hermione however, did.

"We have a test in the next class," she noted, "I can't believe you could be so late. I hope you weren't out around the castle last night."

"I wasn't," Harry replied, "I just couldn't sleep."

"I tried to wake you twice," Ron said as before finishing his pumpkin juice, "You just wouldn't get up."

"Why couldn't you sleep?"

"I just couldn't," Harry replied and then thought better of it, if anyone would know, Hermione would. "Hey…it's not possible for people to come back from the dead is it?"

"Like a ghost?" Ron asked. "Of course it is, there are tons of ghosts you know that."

"No I know but I mean can someone say be dead for a long time, years, and then come back?"

Hermione shook her head, "I don't believe so…and you can't bring people back from the dead"

"Why?" Ron asked.

"I just saw something on my map last night…I was probably just seeing things, I was tired and my eyes hurt."

"Who?" Hermione asked.

Harry quickly looked around to make sure no one was paying any attention to them or their conversation before saying the name in a low voice.

Ron's eyes nearly popped out of his head and he immediately went white. Hermione however quickly shook her head.

"He's dead Harry you know that, everyone knows that…you were probably just tired like you said."

"I know," Harry nodded in agreement, "I'm sure you're right."

And he did know but as he sat there and listened to his friend's talk he couldn't help but think that he wasn't all that tired the previous night and his eyes hadn't hurt all that bad. He knew what he saw even if his friends didn't believe it and even if he didn't want to believe it himself.

* * *

"I expect no less then four feet on the uses of leeches in potions," Snape instructed as the class gathered their things and began to disperse, "Potter you will stay after."

Harry sighed to himself as Ron threw him a sympathetic look before turning and walking away.

Harry collected his things before approaching Snape's desk.

"How is your homework coming along?" Snape asked as he picked up a quill and began to write his head bent over his desk.

Harry raised an eyebrow. As far as he was concerned his homework was nonexistent. How in the world was he supposed to practice controlling his emotions? Besides in his opinion he had already learned how to control his emotions loads in the past few months.

"Good Sir," he lied.

Snape stopped writing for a moment and glanced up at him, "Good our next lesson will be tomorrow night directly after supper and I expect to see some positive changes."

"Yes Sir."

"Dismissed Potter."

* * *

"What'd he keep you after for?"

"I have another lesson with him tomorrow night," Harry explained, "He wanted to talk to me about that."

"Oh," Ron replied as he began to set up a chess game.

Harry nodded as he took his seat across from Ron. Hermione had gone off to the library to work on homework and the common room was pretty much dead.

Harry watched as his friend concentrated hard on his pieces.

"Um Ron do you think Hermione could have been wrong?"

"Wrong? What about?" Ron asked as he moved his first piece carefully.

"About what I saw last night on the map or rather who I saw."

"I dunno," Ron shrugged, "Hermione's hardly ever wrong and he is dead Harry."

"I know he is but I know what I saw too."

"But you said you were real tired and your eyes hurt maybe you just thought you saw it."

"No," Harry shook his head, "I know earlier I agreed with that but I really wasn't that tired I saw it Ron…and then the dot just like disappeared into the wall."

"That doesn't even make sense though how could someone just disappear into the wall?"

* * *

As had happened previously the following day, when Harry had his lesson with Snape, went by way too quickly for his liking. As he sat at dinner he toyed with the idea of taking an extra long time to eat or skipping the lesson all together but he knew he couldn't do either. After all, doing so would only result in either Snape being furious and taking it out on him during the lesson or Snape going to Sirius about it and Sirius being disappointed or angry.

Harry sighed as he quickly ate the last few bites of his pie before standing up. Snape had disappeared from the staff table ten minutes ago and Harry was sure he was waiting for him.

"Good luck," Hermione offered an encouraging smile.

Harry didn't respond but simply turned and walked towards the dungeons.

* * *

Snape's living room disappeared from his vision rapidly. He was four watching Dudley eat an ice cream cone after he had been denied one….he was nine locked in his cupboard under the stairs listening to his Aunt, Uncle, and cousin watch a movie…he was in Myrtle's bathroom with Ron and Hermione….

"NO!" Harry's brain screamed loudly and quickly Snape's office came back into view as Harry found himself on the floor.

"Honestly Potter are you trying at all? Is this merely a game to you?"

Harry glared up at the man before he picked himself up off the floor.

"I am trying!" He insisted.

"I told you that you must learn to control your emotions. If your emotions aren't completely under control you will not be able to repel me out of your mind!"

"I am trying!" Harry repeated.

Snape raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sir," Harry said, "I am trying Sir."

"Relax and let go of all your emotions," Snape instructed, "On the count of three…one…two…three…Legilimens!"

Snape's living room vanished once again. He was talking to Dumbeldore about meeting Sirius…he was under his cloak with Ron at the Order meeting…he was talking to Dobby in his bedroom…he was sitting on a windowsill talking to Ginny…."NO! No…he cannot see this!"

Once again Snape's living room came back rapidly only this time Harry was standing firmly on the ground. A small part of him expected praise for at least being able to manage not falling to his knees.

"Once again you let me get too far in Potter."

"I don't know how to stop you!" Harry all but yelled.

"Sir," Snape hissed.

"There is no need to call me Sir Professor," Harry replied smugly and immediately regretted the words.

He watched as Snape's facial expression changed to that of a livid man.

"Get. Out. Potter."

Quickly Harry turned and all but ran out the door. He knew he shouldn't have answered Snape in that way but he had just been so angry and frustrated with him, he could hardly help himself. And now he was in trouble. He was sure Snape would go to Dumbeldore about his outburst of attitude and Dumbeldore would go to Sirius. Harry sighed as he scolded himself for losing his temper and allowing Snape to get the better of him.

"Harry."

He was so lost in thought that he almost didn't hear the small voice. Looking up quickly he saw Ginny Weasley standing by the portrait of the fat lady.

"You're back!" He all but exclaimed rushing towards her and pulling her into a hug.

"I just got back, mum brought me…she wanted to keep me home for a few more days but I talked her out of it as it is I am probably so behind in my schoolwork."

"I'm really happy to see you…I'm happy you're okay."

"I am, I'm really okay…thanks to you."

"Ron helped too and so did Hermione."

"I know they helped but you saved me Harry and I want to thank you for that once more, if you hadn't come I would have…." she trailed off slowly.

"But you didn't."

"No," she smiled up at him, "I didn't. And you never told anyone my secret either…thank you for that as well."

"I promised I wouldn't," Harry replied as if that explained it all.

"You're a really good friend Harry."

Harry smiled feeling his cheeks blush slightly. "Sirius and I are coming to your house for Christmas…did you know?"

Ginny nodded. "Mum told me, she said you would be over for Christmas Eve and then again on Christmas day for the feast. I think Professor Lupin is coming as well."

"It's going to be a wicked time," Harry agreed smiling.

"It should be really nice," Ginny smiled, "And again thank you for saving me I hope Sirius wasn't too mad about it."

"Nah," Harry forced himself to smile, "Sirius wasn't that mad…."

He trailed off as a feeling of dread filled his body. Sirius! He had to talk to Sirius right away!

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked. "You look like you're going to sick up."

"I'm fine," he answered quickly, "I've got to go though, I'll talk to you later alright?"

But Harry didn't wait for an answer he took off in a fast sprint to Remus' office and didn't stop to knock on the door. He expected to find Remus but his office was surprisingly empty. It was late, after nine.

"_Where in Merlin's name would Remus be?"_ Harry wondered to himself and then quickly shook his head he didn't have time to wonder about that now.

For a split second he contemplated whether he should go find Remus or Dumbeldore and explain to them that he needed to talk to Sirius instead of just taking off for home without informing anyone. He also questioned whether he should just go talk to his godfather through the mirror.

And then, making a quick decision, he picked up a handful of floo powder and seconds later he was standing in his living room.

"Sirius?" He yelled.

He stood motionless for several seconds listening for any sounds that would tell him where his godfather was but the house was silent. Maybe he wasn't even home.

"Sirius?" He tried once more.

"Harry? Harry is that you?"

The familiar voice was coming from upstairs and Harry quickly sprinted across the living room and to the bottom of the stairs. There at the top stood Sirius looking completely groggy.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked in a panicked voice.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?" Harry asked as his godfather began to walk down the stairs.

"I was in bed," Sirius replied, "Or rather I was reading in bed. What's wrong? Why are you here?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Is everything okay?"

Harry glanced at his godfather and saw the worry overcome his face. At that moment he knew he was absolutely doing the right thing. Maybe he had been tired, maybe his eyes had been tired, maybe he hadn't seen anything at all…but, maybe he had. And either way he needed to tell his godfather, he needed to get his opinion and input before he did something foolish and got himself into trouble once again.

"Can we go sit in the living room?" Harry asked.

Sirius nodded as he led the way into the living room and immediately took his usual spot in the armchair, following suit Harry took his normal spot on the couch.

"What is it Pup?" Sirius asked once Harry was seated.

"I'm not sure I should even be here but you said I needed to start trusting you and stop keeping things from you right? You said I had to stop handling things all on my own."

"I did," Sirius agreed nodding, "Did Snape do something to you?"

Harry looked up at his godfather "Yes well no but that's not why I am here. The other night I couldn't sleep and so I was looking at the map and I saw someone on there that is dead and they were walking in the hallway by Dumbeldore's office and then they went straight through the wall and disappeared. And maybe I was tired and just imagined it and I mean my eyes did hurt some from being tired so maybe I was just seeing thing but I don't think I did Sirius. I really think I saw him."

"You really think you saw who?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

Sirius looked up at his godson his eyes meeting Harry's briefly.

"Peter Pettigrew?"

"I know," Harry nodded, "He's dead and I probably imagined it."

"He is dead," Sirius nodded, "He's been dead for eleven years."

"I know but I was just so sure I saw him on the map."

"Where is the map now?" Sirius asked.

"In my dorm…why?"

"Do me a favor Pup and give it to Remus, tell him about this and he'll look it over."

"Do you think he was really on the map?" Harry asked.

"Peter is dead," Sirius sighed, "But the map has never malfunctioned before which is why I want you to give it to Remus to look at."

"Okay," Harry agreed, "I'm sorry I woke you up and bothered you with this and I'm sorry I didn't come to you right away I just didn't think of it until today."

"Don't be sorry at all. I am so proud of you for coming here tonight and telling me about this. This is exactly what I have been talking about Harry, trusting me enough to let me in. You do realize that normally your reaction to this would be to watch the map like a hawk and then when or if you saw him again to go off after him not stopping for a moment to think of the danger you would be putting yourself in?"

Harry nodded as he cracked a smile, "Wow you know me pretty well."

"I like to think I do," Sirius smiled, "And I know that this was a huge step for you tonight to come here and tell me this and I really do appreciate it Pup."

"And you'll let me know what Remus says about the map? Or if you figure out anything else?"

"I will…and now what did Snape do? You said he did something."

Harry chewed his bottom lip absentmindedly. He hadn't planned on mentioning anything to his godfather about what had just happened in his lesson but he didn't want to lie either…he couldn't lie…doing so was in the past.

"I guess he didn't really do anything…I did," Harry admitted.

"And may I ask what it is that you did?" Sirius' voice remained very neutral.

"I guess I kind of got an attitude with him and he kicked me out of the lesson but I really didn't mean to, it's just so hard and he doesn't tell me how to keep him out of my memories and I was frustrated with him."

Sirius sighed softly, "Do I even want to know what you said to him?"

"He was correcting me, reminding me to call him Sir and I told him that there is no need to call me Sir," Harry muttered the words as he looked down at his lap refusing to meet his godfather's eyes.

Harry distinctly heard Sirius laugh softly under his breath and when he spoke his tone was gentle, "I am sure it is all very frustrating, I'll see if I can't speak to Dumbeldore about it and see what he can do. Nevertheless Harry you really do need to keep your attitude in check…especially during these lessons. Snape is doing us a huge favor by teaching you."

"I know," Harry replied, "And I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I'll speak with Dumbeldore, let me know if it happens again or anything else happens."

"I will," Harry nodded as he stood, "I should probably get back, it's late…I'll see you soon?"

"You will…I was actually thinking that this Saturday I could come over to Hogwarts and take you out to Hogsmeade, you can bring Ron and Hermione if you like."

"Really? Wicked!"

"I'll check with Dumbeldore and make sure it's alright but it shouldn't be a problem."

"Cool, thanks Sirius."

* * *

Harry stepped back through the floo to be met by Remus who nearly jumped a mile when he saw him.

"Harry what in Merlin's name!"

"I had to go see Sirius, it was an emergency," Harry quickly explained everything he had told his godfather to Remus.

"Sirius is right," Remus nodded slowly, "The map has never been wrong in the past."

"I'm sorry I just went through the floo without telling you…or anyone but I had to go…I had to…"

"No, no it's fine," Remus shook his head, "Can you go get the map for me please and if anyone stops you just tell them you are under orders from me to fetch something for me and come directly back."

**TBC...**


	35. Chapter 35

**Author's Note: First of all I apologize now for how this chapter ends. I thought about adding more to it but I decided against it. I am hoping that I'll have the next chapter up in the next day or so but I can't make any promises. I have a ton of family in town for Christmas and I've been really busy because of it but with a little luck it might get done by tomorrow night, we'll see. If I don't get it up by then...Happy Holidays to you all! **

**As always thank you for all the reviews, private messages, and adds...I appreciate them all!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It was almost an hour later when Remus stepped through the floo. Sirius was pacing the living room as he waited for him. Of course he had had no conformation that his friend was coming but he knew Remus well enough to know that once he had looked the map over he would be right through the floo to share what he had or had not discovered.

The moment Remus stepped into the living room Sirius' pacing stopped.

"Well?" He questioned his oldest friend.

"I can't make anything of it," Remus admitted, "The map seems to be in perfect condition and should have no reason to malfunction but there is no sign of Peter on it either. Harry is sure he didn't just imagine it? He is sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him?"

"No, he isn't sure. He admitted that he was tired when he spotted Peter on the map but he seemed awful sure that he hadn't been seeing things, that he had actually seen him."

Remus sighed softly as he sat on the couch, "I want to believe Harry, I do…but he is dead Sirius, he has been for years."

"Is he?" Sirius questioned as he began to pace once more, "Are we completely sure of that?"

"Of course we are Padfoot! We all know what happened that night!"

"We know he told Voldemort where James and Lily were and then he disappeared, killed a dozen muggles, and all that was found was a toe. That doesn't necessarily mean he is dead."

"Dumbeldore believes him to be dead."

"Dumbeldore can be wrong, he has been wrong in the past," Sirius nearly muttered the words as he continued to pace the living room, "A toe and a disappearance doesn't prove someone to be dead, a person can live with a missing toe."

"Alright perhaps Dumbeldore is wrong and Peter has been hiding for all these years," Remus replied, "How in Merlin's name has he managed to stay so well hidden and survive for all these years and how in Merlin's name did he manage to get into Hogwarts without being seen? Have you always felt that he was still alive or is this merely because Harry may have spotted him on the map?"

"I don't know Mooney; I just know that if Harry says he saw him on the map then he did. I don't think he would come and tell me about it if he wasn't sure of what he saw."

"I'll keep an eye on the map for the next few days," Remus nodded softly, "I'll make sure it is working correctly and that no one who isn't supposed to be on it pops up."

"Thank you Mooney," Sirius replied as he finally stopped pacing and flopped into his armchair.

"How are Harry's lessons going with Snape?"

"As well as I expected them to go. Apparently Harry got a little cheeky with him tonight and Snape ended the lesson early. I'm still not sure it's such a good idea to have Snape teaching him, I suppose it is the only option though."

"Snape is tough Padfoot but he isn't overly harsh with his students…at least not that I have seen and I do believe that he has Harry's very best interests at heart, he is helping to protect him."

"I know he is," Sirius agreed softly, "I just wish he and Harry could find a common ground, learn to tolerate one another."

"Perhaps they will," Remus said softly, "It would be nice for Harry to see the other side of Severus; he isn't nearly as tough as he appears to be to his students, and he has always been very helpful to me."

"And I'm thankful that he has," Sirius agreed, "I'm very thankful that he makes your potion when you need it and I'm very thankful he was able to assist me with potions when I needed them. However, the way in which he handles Harry worries me at times."

"Sometimes tough love can be good for a child," Remus noted as he stood, "I should be going though. It's late and I need to get some sleep, after all the full moon is in another two nights."

Sirius nodded in understanding as he watched his oldest friend step back through the floo.

* * *

Remus was right, it was late. However, Sirius was in no hurry to get to bed, before Harry had shown up he had been close to sleep but now he was wide awake.

Of course he was quite worried about the prospect of Peter being alive and worse near Hogwarts but that wasn't what was keeping him awake. His godson had trusted him. Harry had come to him and told him what was going on before getting himself into any sort of trouble and Sirius couldn't have been prouder of the boy or happier about what had happened.

After the fiasco in the Chamber he had highly doubted himself in giving Harry the potion to take away his pain. Of course he didn't want his godson to be in any form of pain but after giving Harry the potion he almost wondered if nursing a sore bum wouldn't have helped drive the message home. Now, however, he was sure he had done the right thing. He was absolutely positive that this was a major turning point for him and his godson. Harry had trusted him enough to come tell him the problem, he had done the right thing and the feeling it gave Sirius was greater than anything he had experienced in awhile.

A small part of him also knew that earlier tonight when Harry had confessed being so cheeky with Snape, he probably should have been a tad sterner when relaying his feelings about it. He certainly didn't want Harry to think that mouthing off to Snape was alright but he just couldn't bring himself to reprimand his godson…not tonight. Never mind that though, tomorrow Sirius would go speak with Dumbeldore about the lessons…tonight he just wanted to bask in the feeling of his relationship with his godson changing for the better

* * *

It was early the next morning, immediately after breakfast, when Sirius walked through the halls of Hogwarts heading in the direction of the Headmaster's office. The halls were crowded with students rushing off to their first class of the day and Sirius couldn't help but think back to his own days as a student in the castle. Memories of James, Remus, and himself passing notes during classes and he and James sneaking around the castle clouded his thoughts as he told the proper password to the gargoyle causing the staircase to reveal itself.

"Sirius!" Dumbeldore smiled warmly as Sirius entered the office, "Please have a seat."

Sirius returned the smile as he took a seat across from the headmaster. "Good morning. I'm sorry to bother you so early in the day…'

"Nonsense," Dumbeldore waved a hand in his direction, "You are never a bother my boy."

"I came to speak with you about Harry's lessons," Sirius replied getting straight to the point.

"Ah yes, are they going well?"

Sirius paused for a moment glancing up at the older wizard. He hadn't expected that reaction. When Harry had confessed that he had mouthed off to Snape and that Snape had ended the lesson so abruptly, Sirius had expected that the Potions master had gone straight to Dumbeldore to express his displeasure, the idea that Snape wouldn't complain about the previous night never occurred to Sirius.

"I'm not sure they are," Sirius finally responded, "I'm concerned that Snape can be a bit rough when it comes to Harry."

"Indeed Severus is a rather tough teacher," Dumbeldore agreed though the twinkle never left his eye, "He is very feared by some students, I daresay Severus enjoys it, perhaps even sees it as a form of respect."

"And you agree?"

"I do not agree nor do I disagree Sirius, Severus is an excellent teacher and I have never witnessed nor been made aware of any situation to contradict that statement."

"I do not doubt his ability as a teacher," Sirius replied, "I just wonder if he is too hard on Harry."

"I believe that Severus cares for Harry in a different way that you do and I believe that he does have Harry's best interests at heart and that he would stop at nothing to protect him. Indeed he may be tough at times, but I believe his rough exterior is simply that…a rough exterior."

Sirius raised an eyebrow as he sat back in his chair. "He and Harry had a bit of a row last night, apparently Harry was frustrated with the lessons and got cheeky and Snape dismissed him."

"Yes I heard something about that," Dumbeldore nodded softly; "I do know that occlumency lessons can be rather frustrating. I spoke with Severus about it last night and he agreed to continue teaching Harry."

"And I am not saying that Harry wasn't in the wrong because he does know better than to mouth off at a teacher however he said that Snape does not help him to learn how to block him from his mind."

Dumbeldore was silent for several moments before responding and when he did his voice was soft. "Occlumency is a very hard skill to master Sirius and in order to do so Harry must learn to let go of all emotions and simply focus on closing his mind. I understand what you are saying about Severus being hard on him during these lessons and I understand your concern for Harry as a parent...." Dumbeldore paused for a second as he ran a hand down his face, "Sirius I know you are aware of what I believe Harry will have to go through in his life before Voldemort is defeated…before Harry can live without the constant fear for his life and I can't imagine as a parent what that must do to you…Harry is not my child and I know what it does to me."

Sirius sighed softly as he nodded in agreement. It was true he had spent many a night lying awake in his bed, wishing there were a way to give his godson an easier life…a fairer life.

"What Harry is learning in these lessons with Severus will aid him in all of this. And yes, Severus may be hard on him at times but compared to Voldemort Severus is a puppy dog."

Sirius nodded once more. "I understand."

"And I do feel it absolutely necessary for Harry to continue these lessons. Though I would suggest perhaps mentioning to him that controlling his emotions and focusing solely on keeping his thoughts and memories to himself is key."

Sirius nodded once more. "I'll be sure to do that."

"Perhaps I can bring Harry in for a lesson with me as well, see if I can't help him with all of this."

"I'm sure he would appreciate that," Sirius smiled, "As would I."

"Very well," Dumbeldore smiled, "I'll do that."

* * *

Sirius stepped back through the floo and into his living room feeling better about his godson's situation. A lesson with Dumbeldore certainly couldn't do anything but help Harry and Sirius was more than grateful that Dumbeldore had suggested it. Of course he knew that the occlumency lessons with Snape weren't the end of the world for his godson but he couldn't help but feel bad that he was making Harry endure them.

During the meeting Sirius had contemplated telling Dumbeldore about the map and what Harry had claimed to see on it. He had decided against it though. He wasn't really sure how to explain to Dumbeldore, whom he respected and admired, that he had his doubts about Peter being dead. He also wasn't sure that admitting he had given his godson a map that was indeed against every rule Hogwarts had, was the best idea either. Besides, until there was some sort of proof that Peter had in fact been seen on that map, there was no need to bring it up.

* * *

"Ginny said that mum said that we can totally play Quidditch on Christmas," Ron said as he and Harry walked through the dungeons towards the Potions classroom, "Sometimes she won't let us because she says Christmas is a time for family so we all have to sit inside and be together…it's right boring…but Ginny said that she said that this year…"

Harry had been listening intently to Ron, he really had but somewhere around the second round of Ginny said that she said, Harry stopped listening and focused on something moving down at the end of the hall behind a large suit of armor.

It was clear by his friend's ongoing word babble that he didn't notice it.

It was a person. Harry was sure of that. A small, pudgy person crouched behind the suit of armor.

Harry quickly looked at Ron hoping to catch the red heads attention without having to speak but he had no luck, Ron kept right on talking about Christmas and Quidditch.

Harry quickly looked back up the hall only to see a quick flash of someone's back before it disappeared into the wall. Or rather a small door in the wall that disappeared just as quickly.

"Did you see that?" Harry asked in a hushed voice.

"No that's what I was saying," Ron replied, "I've never seen the Quidditch World Cup but Charlie says it's taking place this summer so maybe…"

"No," Harry quickly shook his head, "Forget about Quidditch…did you just see that person disappear into the wall up there? Or hiding behind the suit of armor?"

"What person?"

Harry ignored Ron's question as he was running now, down the hall to the place where the person had disappeared. He could hear Ron running behind him.

Once at the wall he placed his hand on it, and for a split second he almost believed that his hand would just go right through it, but it didn't. It was just a hard, cold wall.

"What did you see?" Ron asked.

"There was a door here," Harry explained, "A little one, and a man went through it."

Ron raised an eyebrow as he looked at the wall.

"I've got to go talk to Sirius or Remus!"

"Remus is teaching a class I think and we're going to be late for Potions."

"The hell with Potions!"

Ron looked at his friend in shock. "We can't miss Potions, Snape will kill us. We'll get detention forever. We could go to Potions and then go talk to someone after."

Something inside Harry told him to follow his guy and go find his godfather or Remus but he pushed it aside as he nodded in agreement. After all Ron did have a point, skipping Potions would result in receiving a detention at the very least.

* * *

Harry had planned on heading to Remus' office the moment Snape dismissed them, however, the greasy git asked him to stay after instead. As he approached Snape's desk after his classmates left he prepared himself for Snape to tell him that he would no longer be giving him private lessons. Of course he would be ecstatic when Snape spoke these words but he knew he wouldn't be able to show it. No, he would have to keep his smile and joy inside until he left the classroom.

"I have prior engagements on Friday night Potter therefore your lesson will take place on Saturday night," Snape uttered the words as he arranged papers on his desk, "Directly after supper as always."

Harry felt as if he had just taken a punch in his gut. He was sure that after what had happened Snape would no longer want to teach him ensuring an end to the lessons. Sadly, that wasn't the case though.

He nodded once before turning to leave.

"A verbal response Potter," Snape hissed.

"Yes," Harry replied before hastily adding, "Sir."

As he left the dungeons he headed for Remus' office feeling an anger that he couldn't place. He was still stuck in lessons with Snape and it wasn't fair.

"Harry!" Remus smiled as he walked into the office but once Remus saw the boy's face his smile vanished, "Is everything okay?"

"I need to talk to Sirius," Harry replied.

"Well you are more than welcome to use the floo or I can go fetch your godfather and bring him back."

"It doesn't matter," Harry shrugged.

"I'll go get him," Remus smiled before picking up a handful of floo powder and disappearing.

While Remus was gone Harry's anger grew. Why did he have to have private lessons with Snape? No one even knew if Voldemort was really alive! Last year he was just this half dead thing feeding off of Quirrell so what did it matter if he learned occlumency? Voldemort had never tried to get into his head before so who knew if he ever would? And why with Snape? The whole thing was bull!

Moments later Remus stepped back through the floo alone.

"Sirius is on his way," he explained, "He should be here in a moment."

Harry nodded.

"Did something happen Harry? You look quite distressed."

"Snape happened!" Harry replied, "These lessons are so stupid Remus! Why do I have to learn this? And why does he have to teach me? The whole idea is bull and a waste of my time!"

Harry wasn't sure why he had chosen this exact moment to explode nor did he know why he had chosen to explode to Remus of all people, but he did know that he was far to angry to stop himself.

"Watch your mouth Harry," Remus replied softly.

"Why should I? No one cares what I think! I hate these lessons! I hate Snape! And no one cares it's all such a load of shit!"

"Harry James!"

The words had just left Remus' mouth when Sirius stepped through the floo. All it took was one look at his godson's red, angry face and Remus' shocked one to know that he had clearly walked in on something.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked.

"Your godson is in need of a good mouth soaping," Remus muttered.

"I am not!"

Sirius raised an eyebrow at Harry. "What is going on Pup?"

"I hate Snape," Harry replied his anger quickly disappearing as he now stood before his godfather.

"Did something happen?" Sirius asked softly.

Harry shook his head, "I just hate these lessons Sirius, they are so frustrating and no one cares. Why are you making me do this?"

Sirius sighed as he crouched down to his godson's level and looked him in the eye. "I know you hate them and I'm sorry that you have to take them but I promise you that I wouldn't make you take them if I didn't think they were important to your safety."

"I know," Harry muttered.

"And I have some news that may make you happy," Sirius continued, "I spoke with Dumbeldore and he offered to give you a lesson and hopefully his lesson will teach you how to keep Snape out of your thoughts."

"He did? Really?"

"He did," Sirius nodded smiling, "I'm sure he'll be making arrangements with you for it sometime soon."

"Wicked," Harry smiled.

Sirius smiled once more before raising an eyebrow and giving a small nod in Remus' direction.

Harry sighed softly before giving a small nod and only then did Sirius stand up right.

"I'm sorry I freaked out Remus," Harry said sincerely.

Remus nodded softly, "It's quite alright. Is that why you came here? To talk to Sirius about Professor Snape?"

Harry shook his head as his original reason for the visit came rushing back to him.

"I saw something…something strange. I think it might have been Peter Pettigrew."

**TBC...**


	36. Chapter 36

**Author's Note: Thank you all so very much for your kind words about my mom and for being so understanding about my lack of updating. I finally finished this chapter and I hope you all enjoy it. I'm not sure when I'll get the next one up my mom is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday and she is in the hopsital until then and then she'll be there for a few days after and on bed rest for about a week so I'm not sure I'll find time to write but I'll try my best.**

**Enjoy this chapter...feedback is always welcome and always more than appreciated.**

**And Happy New Year!!!**

**Miranda**

* * *

"I'm sorry Sirius, it's not that I don't trust Harry and I wish I could believe him but Peter is dead and to say that he has seen him on the map and now in the castle is a bit far fetched. I have been watching the map constantly and I have yet to see any sign of him."

"I know my godson Mooney and I know that in the past he has lied but he would not lie about this, I know he wouldn't," Sirius replied trying his hardest to keep his tone calm and collected.

Harry had gone up to bed almost an hour ago, though as the map told them, the boy wasn't actually in bed but sitting in the Gryffindor common room talking with Ron and Hermione. Sirius had been half tempted to allow his godson to stay for the duration of the conversation but it was late and he didn't feel that his twelve year old needed to know everything.

"I am not implying that he is making this up, but perhaps he just imagined seeing him on the map and maybe the person he saw in the hall was someone else and Harry didn't realize it," Remus explained as his eyes drifted to the map that was spread out on the table between them.

"Perhaps," Sirius nodded, "And perhaps not."

"It's just so far-fetched Padfoot, you must agree with that." Remus' voice was exasperated now.

"I do agree, it's very far-fetched but stranger things have happened and I'm not just going to dismiss this because it is far-fetched," Sirius nodded as he replied in a soft voice.

Remus sighed as he nodded once. "Very well, I will continue to keep an eye on the map."

"Thank you Mooney."

* * *

The following morning at breakfast Harry received a note requesting him to join Dumbeldore after lunch in his office.

"He's going to give me an occlumency lesson," Harry explained to Ron and Hermione.

Hermione smiled in response but Ron's eyes immediately grew several sizes.

"He's going to be able to read your thoughts mate," Ron exclaimed, "Do you know how much stuff he'll be able to see that we've done."

"Honestly Ron, I highly doubt that Dumbeldore is going to get upset over anything you've done in the past," Hermione said as she opened her Defense book.

"What if he sees when we made Polyjuice potion?" Ron asked, "You did that too Mione!"

"He won't see that, Harry can block him out, can't you Harry?"

Harry looked at his friends concerned faces and nodded quickly. "Yeah…yeah of course I can."

It was a lie and he mentally noted it. So far he had had very little luck at blocking Snape out of his memories but then again Dumbeldore was not Snape and Harry was sure that this lesson would go much better than any of his previous ones had.

* * *

Harry was overly happy that he didn't have Potions that day. He didn't really feel like seeing Snape at all until he absolutely had to. Unfortunately that time came far sooner then he would have liked it to when he walked into the Defense classroom to find Remus gone and Snape standing in front of his desk.

"What is he doing here?" Harry asked under his breath and Ron shrugged in reply.

"Professor Lupin wasn't at breakfast either," Hermione whispered back, "Didn't you notice?"

Harry shook his head as they took their seats and Hermione immediately raised her hand.

"Sir, where is Professor Lupin?"

"Professor Lupin is unable to teach today," Snape cleared his throat as the students took their seats. "Take out your books and turn to page two hundred and sixty two."

Harry hardly had his book open when Hermione's voice rang in his ear.

"Werewolves? Sir we haven't gotten this far yet."

"I am well aware of how far you have gotten Miss Granger and if you interrupt my class one more time I will be taking points from Gryffindor and you will be serving a detention with me."

Harry watched as Hermione's face blushed a deep shade of red.

"Take out your quills and begin taking notes," Snape instructed before he began lecturing on werewolves.

Hermione immediately began taking notes, her face buried in her thick hair as she hunched over the desk.

Harry tried hard to concentrate and take notes but he couldn't keep his mind from wandering to Remus. He had just seen him last night and he was perfectly fine so what could have happened in less than twenty four hours…

* * *

Unlike when he had lessons with Snape, the day did not rush by. It seemed like hours and hours to Harry before he finally sat down to lunch.

"Fred and I are going to go play some Quidditch," Ron said before drinking some pumpkin juice, "So come find us when you are done your lesson."

"I was thinking that after it we could go visit Hagrid," Harry replied, "We haven't been in awhile."

"That would be nice," Hermione agreed smiling.

"How long do you think the lesson will be?" Ron asked as he shoved a helping of his lunch into his mouth.

"Dunno," Harry shrugged, "Snape doesn't usually keep me that long but he doesn't teach me anything either."

Ron opened his mouth to reply but was quickly cut off by Hermione.

"Honestly Ron chew your food before you talk."

Ron swallowed as his face blushed, "I wasn't going to talk with food in my mouth."

"Of course you were, you always do."

Harry listened to his friends argue back and forth as he quickly ate. He glanced up to see that Dumbeldore wasn't at his normal seat and neither was Remus. For a split second Harry's mind wandered to thinking about where Remus could be and what could be wrong with him before he remembered that he had his lesson with Dumbeldore. Quickly he finished off his pumpkin juice before standing up.

"If I'm not in the common room after your lesson come find me on the pitch alright?"

Harry nodded in Ron's direction before heading out of the great hall.

His legs couldn't carry his to the gargoyle fast enough. He found himself sprinting down the hall and skidding to a stop in front of the stone statue before blurting out the password. Once the gargoyle moved and revealed the staircase he ran up the stairs skidding to a stop once more as he knocked on Dumbeldore's door.

"Come in."

Harry pushed open the door to find Dumbeldore as he had found Snape before their first lesson, emptying some of his memories into a pensive.

"Ah, Harry! Finished lunch already?" Dumbeldore smiled as Harry entered his office.

Harry nodded, "Yes Sir."

He watched as Dumbeldore held his wand to his head and withdrew a long silvery strand placing it into the pensive.

"Now before we get started I'd like to explain a few things about occlumency to you," Dumbeldore smiled as he left the pensive and walked over towards Harry, "It's a very difficult skill to master and the key to doing so is to clear your mind completely of all thoughts and to keep your emotions under control and focus solely on keeping me out of your mind. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded slowly, "I understand I just can't seem to do keep my emotions under control," he admitted.

"Well controlling emotions can be quite difficult," Dumbeldore agreed, "Especially when you have certain emotions towards the person teaching you," he added with a bit of a twinkle in his eye.

Harry felt himself blush involuntarily.

"Now I'll start off gently and just try to focus solely on keeping me out of your mind. On the count of three now…one….two…three…"

Quickly Dumbeldore's office vanished from his sight. He was five going to his first day of school in Dudley's hand me down clothes…he was seven locked in his room under the stairs….he was eleven sitting in Dumbeldore's office meeting Sirius for the first time…he was with Ron flying in the car…he was talking to Ginny in the hospital wing...

"NO!" His brain screamed loudly, "GET HIM OUT!"

Quickly Dumbeldore's office came back into view though unlike several previous times he did not find himself on the floor but merely hunched over.

"Very good Harry," Dumbeldore smiled as Harry looked up at him shocked…what he had just done was not good, even he knew that.

"You managed to get me out of your mind before I got much too far in. Now we'll try again and I want you to really concentrate on nothing but keeping me out of your thoughts. Just take a deep breath and clear your mind of anything else and whenever you are ready we'll try once more."

Harry took several deep breaths before nodding once.

"Alright then on the count of three…one…two….three."

Once more the office vanished. He was with Ron and Hermione sneaking a baby dragon into the castle…he was sitting on Sirius' lap as Sirius spoke to him about going into the chamber….

"NO!" His mind screamed loudly and then quickly the office reappeared as Harry stood upright.

"Excellent Harry! You hardly let me in at all that time," Dumbeldore praised him.

Harry couldn't help the smile that quickly spread across his face.

"And I believe I have found the formula here," Dumbeldore continued, "It is evident to me that your mind is able to force me out the moment I have stumbled upon a memory that you truly do not want me to witness."

Harry felt his face blush as he nodded slowly. In his mind he had clearly gone back to the night of the Chamber incident, at the exact moment that Sirius had sealed his fate, just moments before he had sent him to his room for his inevitable punishment. Had Dumbeldore seen all that too? Merlin, he hoped not!

"Well then it's really quite simple Harry, you merely need to treat every single memory your brain processes as one you do not wish me to see. "

Harry looked up at the Headmaster with a doubtful look on his face…that sounded like anything but simple to him.

"For instance, the memory involving the baby dragon, your did not mind if I saw that because I was already aware of it," Dumbeldore explained, "You need to think as if I know nothing and every memory you possess is one you would not want me to witness. Understand?"

"Yes Sir, I understand it just sounds like that'll be really hard to do."

"Well perhaps it will but just concentrate on that and try. On the count of three alright?"

"Alright," Harry nodded.

"One…two…three…."

Harry concentrated hard but once more the office vanished from his vision….he was sitting in Myrtle's bathroom with Ron….

"NO!" His brain screamed loudly, "Don't let him see anything!"

Quickly Dumbeldore's office came back into view as Harry stood firmly on his feet.

"Wonderful Harry!" Dumbeldore smiled brightly, "That was really excellent!"

A smile quickly plastered itself on Harry's face.

"Now do you feel as if you will be able to do this with Professor Snape as well?"

Harry nodded trying to appear much more confident then he felt.

"When you attend your lesson with him tomorrow just remember what we talked about, treat every memory as something you do not want him to see and let go of all your emotions."

* * *

After finding Hermione in the library the two friends headed in the direction of the Quidditch pitch only to find Ron in the front hall waiting for them.

"Fred and I just finished," he explained, "It was getting too cold out to play."

The three friends headed down to Hagrid's hut as they discussed Harry's lesson with Dumbeldore.

"Arry! Ron! Minoe!" Hagrid smiled widely as he opened his door, "I was wondering when I'd see you three again!" He moved out of the way allowing them to enter his hut before he shut the door behind him. Fang raised his head for a split second to see who the guests were before returning to his comfortable position and shutting his eyes once more.

"Hello Hagrid," Hermione smiled as she took a seat on a large wooden chair.

"Heard you two got into a right bit of trouble with the Chamber," Hagrid noted as he gestured towards Ron and Harry, "Heard you saved Ginny too, guess it wasn't a bad thing that you knew who to talk to."

"Thanks for the tip," Ron smiled, "We never would have figured it out without you."

"Not sure that's a good thing."

"It really was," Harry replied, "I mean we did save Ginny and we didn't tell anyone that you told us, don't worry."

Hagrid smiled broadly as he gestured towards a large pot over the fireplace. "I'm making stew for dinner almost done it is if you three want to stay for supper."

Hermione opened her mouth to decline but Harry spoke first, "We'd love to Hagrid."

* * *

The sun had already set as the three said goodbye to Hagrid and ventured back towards the castle.

"We should have gone back hours ago," Hermione noted, "We're not really supposed to be out this late and if we get caught…"

"It's not that late," Ron replied, "Dinner only just ended. We won't get caught everyone will be heading to their common rooms."

The words were barely out of his mouth when Ron's wand literally flew out of his back pocket and across the grounds towards the whomping willow.

"My wand!" Ron yelled chasing after it.

Harry's eyes shifted in the direction of the large tree. The moment Ron approached the tree, Harry saw him. A small, pudgy man lurking in the shadows of the castle. Harry opened his mouth to scream a warning to Ron but it was too late. The small man pointed Ron's wand on him and Harry and Hermione watched as Ron fell to the ground.

Harry immediately reached into his back pocket for his own wand as he heard Hermione scream but by the time he pulled it out the man was already dragging Ron down into the bottom of the whomping willow.

Harry quickly pointed his wand in the direction of the man and shouted out a stunning spell but it was too late, they had already vanished.

"Harry we have to go get someone!" Hermione shrieked. It was obvious to Harry that she was very close to crying.

In Harry's mind, Hermione was absolutely right. The right thing to do would be to run inside the castle and find some adult to help them, any adult. However, if they did that they could waste time looking for an adult, Ron had already disappeared and the longer they took to find him the worse things could be. Surely Sirius would understand...he would have to understand.

"You go get someone," Harry instructed her, "I'm going after Ron."

"I can't let you go alone!" The young witch argued.

"Then let's go," Harry replied as he began running towards the tree.

He attempted to head for the exact spot that Ron had just disappeared through but the tree had other ideas. The moment he got close enough to the hole in the trunk a branch whisked him off the ground. He held on tightly willing himself not to go flying off. A loud scream told him that Hermione had just been picked up by the tree as well.

"Hermione!" He yelled out, "When you get close enough to the hole let go!"

"Okay!" She screamed back the fear evident in her voice.

It seemed like an eternity to Harry before the tree branch swooped down low enough to the hole for him to let go and moments after he did and landed hard on a dirt floor, Hermione landed on top of him.

"I'm sorry Harry!"

"It's alright, I'm alright," Harry replied as he stood up.

"Lumos," Hermione whispered seconds after she retrieved her wand from her back pocket.

Harry did the same, surprised to see a long dark passage way before them.

"Where do you think it leads?" Hermione asked in a soft voice.

Harry shrugged, "Only one way to find out."

* * *

Severus Snape had been looking out the window when he saw the two young students fly around on the tree and then dive into the hole in its trunk.

"Potter," he hissed the boys name as if it were a curse before turning and hurrying out of his office.

On his way across the grounds he quickly sent a patronus to Dumbeldore before paralyzing the tree and then entering it.

* * *

Harry felt as if he had been walking for hours before he and Hermione entered a small room. The walls creaked loudly around them as he pointed his wand towards a flight of stairs.

"I think we're in the shrieking shack," Hermione whispered as she looked around her.

"I think I hear something upstairs," Harry replied in a hushed voice.

Slowly the two friends made their way up the stairs. The door at the top was cracked open and the moment Hermione laid eyes on Ron lying unconscious on the floor she screamed loudly.

**TBC...**


	37. Chapter 37

**Author's Note: A few things...**

**-First of all thank you all for all the thoughts and prayers for my mom, I really appreicate it!**

**-I don't love this chapter and I may re-do it in a day or two. I don't know, I'll see what you guys think.**

**-I have a poll on my profile page regarding my next story so please vote.**

**-Thank you so much as always for all the reviews, adds, private messages, etc. They are all so very appreciated!!**

**-Oh and I made a livejournal....miraleeann...so feel free to add me if you have one. **

**-Enjoy this chapter!!**

* * *

Sirius Black was just finishing up his dinner when a scroll appeared before his face. Confused Sirius grabbed the parchment, unrolling it quickly. His eyes scanned the words as his blood ran cold.

Jumping up from the table he raced through the house, grabbing a handful of floo powder and throwing it into the fireplace before disappearing to Hogwarts castle.

* * *

Seconds after the blood curdling scream left Hermione's mouth she was at Ron's side, shaking him as she yelled his name.

However, the red headed boy did not stir.

Harry crouched down next to Hermione noting almost immediately that although Ron wasn't waking he was still breathing.

A million options of what could be wrong with his best friend and how he could fix it raced through his head. In fact he was so preoccupied with Ron that he didn't notice the man standing behind the door until he spoke.

"I knew if I could get to your friend you would follow him."

Harry jumped up quickly pointing his wand at the man as Hermione did the same.

"Who are you?" Harry asked though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

"I'm the man who is going to deliver you to Lord Voldemort, I'm Peter Pettigrew."

Harry felt Hermione suck in her breath next to him as he swallowed hard.

"What have you done to Ron?"

"Your friend will be fine, I am not concerned with him…you are my concern Harry Potter and if you cooperate your friends will be just fine, they are of no use to me, my Lord only wants you."

Harry heard Hermione shout the words before he watched Ron's wand fly out of Peter's hand. A feeling of comfort took over Harry's body and then quickly vanished as Peter began to laugh.

"Silly girl, that wand is of no use to me!"

Harry watched as Peter pulled up his sleeve to reveal what looked like a black tattoo.

"One touch to this and the death eaters will come Harry Potter and I will be greatly rewarded."

Peter raised his finger ready to bring it down on the mark as Hermione raised her wand once more.

Harry was sure she was going to stun him and was ashamed that he hadn't already thought of that.

However, she never got the chance.

Before Peter could touch the mark, before Hermione could speak, Harry heard the dreaded voice of Snape speaking loudly and watched Peter fly across the room and into a wall.

Harry turned his head to see Snape enter the small room looking absolutely disgusted.

It was then that Peter stood looking terrified to see Snape standing there.

"Peter Pettigrew," Snape spoke in a serious tone, "Still alive I see? How interesting the ministry will find this. I'm sure the dementor's will be happy to hear of this as well."

Harry wasn't sure what a dementor was but he was sure it couldn't be anything good. He expected Peter to touch his mark or to try and go after Ron's wand which lay on the floor not far from his feet. He thought maybe he might beg for mercy or attempt to run. What he didn't expect was what happened.

Harry watched in amazement as Peter smiled an evil smile before transforming into a rat.

Snape pointed his wand at him calling out several spells but to no avail. The rat simply ran through a crack in the wall disappearing.

"What in Merlin's name were you two thinking?" Snape hissed as he turned around to face Harry and Hermione, "Do you have any idea the sheer danger you put yourselves in?"

"Professor," Hermione squeaked, "Ron!"

Snape sighed as he crouched down next to Ron running his wand down his body as he muttered words silently. Within seconds Ron began to stir and then his eyes opened as he looked around confused.

"Where are we?" he asked slowly.

"The shrieking shack," Harry whispered as he watched Snape begin to help Ron to his feet.

Harry quickly assisted Snape in helping Ron to his feet.

The four of them walked in silence, Harry and Snape helping Ron walk, until they were out of the shrieking shack and back in the long hallway.

"The three of you have a serious amount of explaining to do and if you think we aren't going directly to the Headmaster's office you are sadly mistaken," Snape lectured.

Harry knew that some part of him should feel guilty for his actions. He knew that he should be worried or nervous about going to Dumbeldore's office but he wasn't. This wasn't like last time. He hadn't gone looking for trouble, trouble had simply found him. Sirius would understand that. He was absolutely sure of it. After all, his godfather was always understanding and Harry had no doubt in his mind that he wasn't going to get into any trouble this time.

"We didn't have a choice Sir," Harry spoke in a calm voice.

"No choice? You could have easily gotten help from an adult instead of running headfirst into danger as you always do," Snape spoke as they stepped out of the tree, "It was completely idiotic to chase after Peter and if I had it my way you would be expelled for your actions."

"I'll take it from here Severus."

Harry heard the familiar voice and quickly looked up to see his godfather standing before him looking overcome with worry.

"Oh I'm sure you will Mutt," Snape hissed, "Fortunately Dumbeldore is already well aware of your godson's foolish actions and for once the boy will be dealt with accordingly."

"My godson is always dealt with accordingly," Sirius spat back.

Snape rolled his eyes as he stood up straight allowing Ron to stand on his own.

"You were a delinquent yourself Black as I am sure that is where your unruly godson gets it from."

Sirius thought of a million ways he could reply to Snape's statement but he chose to set an example for Harry and so he bit his tongue.

"Harry you will go to Dumbeldore's office with Hermione as I am sure Professor Snape is going to deliver Ron to Madam Pomfrey. When you are done I expect you to come to Remus' office."

Harry nodded as he muttered his understanding before following Hermione towards the castle.

Sirius didn't appear angry, or well at least not with him, with Snape however, that was a different story. He had looked worried when they came out of the tree but Harry had expected that. After all, it was normal for his godfather to worry.

* * *

"We're going to be expelled," Hermione all but cried once they were in the castle and out of the ear shot of Snape and Sirius who were helping Ron to the hospital wing.

"No we won't," Harry assured her, "He'll understand, we had no choice Hermione it would have taken ages to get an adult."

As Harry expected Dumbeldore did understand, however, he did grow quite stern for a moment as he had them both promise to stay away from the Whomping Willow in the future as well as to return to the castle before supper in the future as well.

He also informed them, with some sadness in his voice, that house points would have to be taken though he only took twenty from each of them.

* * *

"I guess you have to go meet Sirius," Hermione said as she and Harry exited Dumbeldore's office.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, are you going to go check on Ron?"

Hermione nodded in reply as they came to the hallway that led to the Defense room.

"Do you think you'll be back tonight?" Hermione asked clearly referring to the last time Harry was in trouble.

Harry nodded quickly, "Sirius won't even be mad once I explain, we had no choice Hermione he'll see that."

Hermione looked doubtful but nodded anyway.

* * *

Harry walked into Remus' office expecting to see both his godfather as well as his favorite Professor but Remus was no where to be seen.

Sirius was sitting on the small couch with his head in his hands though he looked up at his godson when he entered the room.

"Start explaining," Sirius instructed the moment he saw his godson not bothering to stand up or even straighten up.

"It wasn't our fault Sirius. We were just walking back to the castle from Hagrid's and Peter took Ron into the tree and we had no time to come get help…none at all…so we went after Ron. We couldn't just leave him!" Harry spoke the words with confidence in his voice he was certain that once Sirius realized what had happened he would understand, he might even congratulate him and tell him how proud he was of him for helping Ron.

"So once again you put yourself into danger without thinking of the consequences. Peter could have easily killed you tonight," Sirius spoke the words trying hard to keep his temper in check. He honestly wanted nothing more than to yell at his godson until he got some sense through that thick skull but he was almost certain that yelling would not help.

"I told you, there was no time," Harry replied, "It could have taken ages to find an adult."

"From what I understand this occurred just after supper was ending, when the majority of the adults in this castle would have been leaving the great hall, it would have taken all of a few moments to get an adult Harry James and you know it."

It wasn't until this very moment when Sirius used his full name that Harry realized that he was in fact in trouble with his godfather once more and then his temper got the best of him.

"How can you be mad at me for this?" Harry asked in an annoyed voice, "I didn't lie about anything I came to you and told you I saw him on the map and I didn't go looking for trouble it just happened!"

"I appreciate you coming to me Harry, you know I do but you still put yourself in danger tonight," Sirius sighed, "I was worried that last time when I gave you the potion you wouldn't learn anything from what had happened and clearly I was right. Clearly I shouldn't have told you that I was proud of you for saving Ginny."

"I didn't have a choice," Harry yelled the words, "He took Ron!"

His brain was screaming at him to stop yelling at his godfather given the predicament he was already in but he just couldn't stop. He couldn't believe this was happening. He couldn't believe Sirius didn't understand.

"So you put yourself in danger once more and you took Hermione along with you this time," Sirius replied willing himself to remain calm.

"I didn't force her to come with me, I told her to go get help, she wanted to come!"

"Lower your voice Harry James, you know better than to speak to me like that!" Sirius fought hard to keep his voice at a reasonable tone, refusing to yell at his godson for yelling at him.

"I had to help Ron," Harry argued, "It could have taken ages to find an adult to help! Ron could have died while we were looking for an adult!"

Sirius shook his head. "You are wrong Harry and I think you know it."

"I am not wrong! You are wrong! If you were me you would have done the same bloody thing and you know it Sirius!" Harry couldn't control his anger. How could his godfather possibly not understand this?

"Harry that is enough," Sirius spoke in a calm voice.

"Just spank me and get it over with!" Harry replied in a harsh voice.

Sirius remained quite for what seemed like an eternity to Harry before finally answering.

"No," He finally spoke, "The last time I did that you clearly learned nothing so we're not going to do that tonight."

Harry looked up at his godfather and quickly looked away. He didn't like what he saw there. Sirius didn't look angry exactly but more distraught and Harry was nervous about where this conversation was going.

"You are grounded until I saw otherwise. I will be taking the map home with me and I don't want to see you out of Gryffindor tower aside from classes and meals. I'm not sure if we will still be going to the Weasley's for Christmas, I'll have to think about it. However, you are not playing Quidditch until I say it is okay and I will write Professor McGonagall as well as Dumbeldore about it so that they are made aware and understand. I want you to think long and hard about what you did tonight and exactly why it was so wrong and how you could have handled it better and when you are ready to talk to me about this in an acceptable manner then we will discuss your real punishment. Am I understood?"

With every word Sirius said Harry felt his face fall more and more. After hearing his godfather speak he wanted nothing more than to apologize for everything and beg for forgivness but he forced himself to stand his ground.

"Yes Sir," he said the words in a harsh voice.

"I'm sorry Harry but you have left me no choice," Sirius said softly.

To say that Sirius was hurt by what he had just sentenced his godson to was an understatement. He hadn't wanted to dole out such a harsh or long punishment but he had to get through to his godson and if this was the way he had to do it then so be it.

But Harry was far too angry to hear it.

"Can I go now?" He asked showing no emotion at all.

"You may, straight to Gryffindor tower."

**TBC...**


	38. Chapter 38

**Author's Note: Thank you all so very much for the reviews, private messages, and adds...they are all appreciated!! And thank you again for keeping my mom in your thoughts and prayers, her surgery was a success and she is recovering now and hopefully she'll be home on Monday. **

**Also I posted something on my profile page that I'd like you all to take a look at, thank you! And the poll is still open so if you haven't voted, feel free to do so!**

**Enjoy this chapter and I'll try to have the next one up in the next day or so.**

**Miranda**

* * *

It had been three days since Harry had been sentenced to Gryffindor tower and he was still absolutely fuming. He had already missed a Quidditch practice and although Ron and Hermione had been hanging out with him in the common room as much as possible, he could tell they were becoming annoyed with his constant miserable attitude.

It had been absolutely horrible when he had to tell his teammates that he wasn't allowed to play. They had of course acted as understanding as they could but Harry could see that they were also disappointed and Fred and George had no problem letting him know they were annoyed.

"Well then why don't you just go talk to Sirius," Fred had asked when Harry had explained the situation.

"Then maybe you'd be done being grounded and you wouldn't even miss a practice," George had added.

But Harry had defiantly shaken his head.

Of course Ron and Hermione had tried as well. Ron had pointed out that maybe Sirius had calmed down by now and maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just go talk to him while Hermione added that they really had kind of put themselves in danger and that if her parents knew she probably would have gotten in just as much trouble.

Harry wasn't hearing it though.

As far as he was concerned he was right and his godfather was wrong and that was all there was too it.

He had avoided anything that had to do with his godfather for the past three days but unfortunately today he had Defense class. A part of him hoped that Remus was still absent and that Snape would teach the class once more, but Remus had been at meals the past few days and Harry was almost positive he would be in class as well.

He walked into the classroom with Ron at his side trying hard to concentrate on what Ron was talking about, trying hard to avoid all eye contact with Remus. If possible Harry hoped to get through this class without speaking once.

"So mum said that over the Christmas holiday you could come and stay for a night or two," Ron said and in response he received a glare from his best mate, "I mean if you aren't grounded anymore."

Harry wanted to reply but they were too close to the front of the room, too close to where Remus could possibly hear him and so he took his seat instead.

"Open your books to page eighty-nine please class," Remus spoke loudly, "Today we are going to discuss Red Caps."

To Harry's surprise he was able to get through the class without speaking once. Twice he worked up the courage to look up at Remus searching for any hint of how the man felt about what had happened between him and his godfather but Remus had appeared completely normal.

"An essay on Red Caps and the charms and hexes which repel them by the next class please," Remus smiled as he dismissed them.

Harry stood up and began gathering his things as he felt someone touch his shoulder gently. Turning he looked up to see Remus standing there.

"I'd appreciate it if you could stay after for just a moment," Remus said softly.

Harry wanted to refuse. He wanted to grab his things and run back to the tower. But he wasn't angry with Remus and given that he wasn't even speaking to his godfather the last thing he needed was a row with someone else so he just nodded.

Once everyone had gone Remus sighed softly as he crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back, sitting gently on the edge of his desk.

"This is absolutely none of my business Harry and I apologize now for even bringing it up, Merlin knows I fought with myself all day as to whether I should say anything at all I certainly don't know the whole story as I only know one side of it but…I just wanted you to be aware that your godfather is hurting over the quarrel that the two of you are having."

"I'm the one that's grounded," Harry replied.

"He doesn't enjoy punishing you Harry," Remus said softly, "And it's my understanding that once the two of you talk you most likely won't be grounded any longer."

"I don't want to talk to him," Harry said quickly.

Remus sighed, "Very well, the decision to talk to Sirius is of course yours, I just felt you might want to know that he is upset about this."

"Okay," Harry nodded, "Thanks for letting me know."

"Best get back to your dormitory now," Remus forced a smile, "I'll see you at supper."

* * *

"You know we play Slytherin this Saturday," George spoke the following evening.

"It's a shame our seeker has to miss such an important game," Fred added.

Harry and Ron were sitting in the common room working on their essays for Defense. Fred and George were across the room working on what they claimed would be a potion you could take to make yourself sick up immediately, but only once, making it perfect for getting out of class, and talking loudly to be sure Harry could hear.

"And to think it could all be fixed by just going home and talking to his godfather," George replied in a sad voice.

Harry glared up at them but kept his mouth shut. He wanted nothing more than to tell them both to sod off but he didn't want to start a fight with them.

"Such a simple solution."

"Knock it off you guys," Ron hissed in their direction before he turned to Harry, "Want to go meet Hermione in the library and work there?"

Harry looked up at Ron with a completely un-amused face.

"Oh right mate, you can't," Ron said in a low sad voice.

Harry shook his head.

"He could if he'd just go talk…"

"Shut up!" Ron cut off Fred.

* * *

It was late and everyone else was fast asleep as Harry sat alone in the common room. He was wide awake and felt no need to lie wide awake in his bed. He actually hoped that his godfather was looking at the map and saw him sitting up in the common room well after midnight.

'_That'll show him', _Harry thought, _'He might be able to ground me but he can't make me go to bed early, I can still do what I want.'_

He was still angry with his godfather but if he was completely honest with himself he did wish he would have handled his anger better. In retrospect he supposed that he could have talked to Sirius instead of yelling and he could have kept his mouth shut about any sort of punishment which probably would have resulted in something other than this never ending grounding. And that was just it, he was grounded indefinitely, it had only been four days and he was already going insane. Not to mention the fact that in less than a week he would be going home for the Christmas holidays and with things the way they were he was dreading it more than anything. At least at Hogwarts he had his friends but if Sirius decided to continue his grounding at home he'd be spending a lot of long, lonely, boring days in his room.

He sighed to himself as he laid his head back on the couch.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know you were down here," the small voice said softly behind him.

Harry jerked his head up quickly and turned slightly to see Ginny Weasley standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'll leave you alone," she said as she turned to head back up to her dormitory.

"No," Harry replied, "You're fine."

She turned once more giving him a small smile before walking across the room and joining him on the couch.

"What are you doing up so late?" He asked.

She shrugged her small shoulders, "I couldn't sleep. I haven't been sleeping very well for awhile now, I guess since the whole Chamber thing. I just have bad dreams about it."

"That wasn't your fault, you know that right?"

She nodded a little. "I know that, I guess I just have dreams about what could have happened if you and Ron had never come after me."

Harry nodded in understanding. He could understand how such a thought could cause horrible dreams.

"You can't think about that though, you're here and it's all in the past and that's all that matters."

"I know that, but sometimes it's hard. So why are you up so late?" Ginny asked.

"I'm just awake," Harry replied, "Too awake to sleep."

The little red headed witch nodded.

"I heard about Sirius not allowing you to play Quidditch, I'm sorry." She said the words in a soft voice.

"I guess that's part of the reason I can't sleep," Harry admitted.

"Did you want to talk about it?"

Harry couldn't explain why but for the first time he really did want to talk about it and he trusted Ginny enough to do so with her, after all he had kept her secret about the Chamber and he was sure she would keep any of his.

"Sirius is being completely unfair."

"How so?" She asked.

"Hermione and I had to go after Ron, we had to save him. We didn't have a choice. It wasn't the same as when we went down into the Chamber. That was planned and researched and we could have gone for help and never did but this time it wasn't like that at all and Sirius just didn't understand."

Ginny was quiet for several moments before she spoke in a soft voice.

"If I were you and what happened with Ron happened I would have done the same thing. I would have just run off after him and done whatever I had to do to make sure he was okay, I think that anyone would do that for their best friend."

Harry nodded in agreement, "See you get it! If Sirius was me and my dad or Remus had been drug off by someone he would have ran after them too."

"I think you are right, Sirius would have done the same thing in your position. And I do get it," she agreed, "but what I think what you don't get is that parents worry Harry, that's there job. My parents were so happy that you and Ron went into the Chamber to save me but they were still upset with Ron because until we came out they thought they had lost two of their children down there. It's just what parents do and they do it because they love you. So while I would have done exactly what you did I know my parents would be just as mad as Sirius is because they love me and they worry when my life is in danger and sometimes their worry comes out as anger and sometimes they have to punish you so that you don't worry them again in the future."

Harry listened to what Ginny said and unlike when Ron and Hermione had said it and when Remus had tried to say it he didn't feel angry or annoyed or even irritated.

"I hope you're not angry with me for saying all that," Ginny said softly after several moments of silence.

"No, I'm not," Harry quickly shook his head, "It's late though, I think we should both head up to bed."

"Okay," Ginny nodded in agreement.

The two of them walked up the stairs together before stopping before the entrance to the girl's dormitory.

"Night Harry."

"Night," Harry replied, "And thank you Ginny."

* * *

Harry awoke the next morning knowing what he had to do and after breakfast and Potions class he put his plan into effect starting with staying after as the rest of his class exited the dungeon.

"Class is dismissed Potter," Snape spoke without looking up from his work.

"I know I wanted to talk to you Sir."

"If you must," Snape replied in a bored voice.

"I just wanted to apologize for going into the shrieking shack."

Snape glanced up at the boy lazily. "I don't expect you to ever understand how wrong you are when you put your life into danger time after time however since no one seems to agree with me and see how poorly disciplined you are there is little I can do about the matter, mark my words though Potter, if you were my godson you would not only be taken off the Quidditch team your broom would be used for nothing more than to sweep my dungeon floor with for the rest of your days at Hogwarts."

Harry bit his tongue willing himself to keep all his nasty remarks to himself.

"I just want to apologize," he said once more.

"As you have," Snape replied, "And now you are dismissed Potter."

Harry bit his tongue once more as he gathered his books and left. He hadn't expected his apology to Snape to go much differently but he honestly didn't understand why Snape always had to make everything so damn hard.

* * *

He was free of classes until after lunch when he was scheduled to be in Herbology and so he raced through the castle depositing his books in his dormitory before racing back out stopping abruptly before the large gargoyle long enough to blurt out the password before racing up the stairs to Dumbeldore's office.

"You may enter Harry," the cheerful voice came from behind the door.

Harry walked in to find Dumbeldore sitting behind his desk smiling at him.

"Hello my dear boy, and to what do I owe this pleasant surprise visit?"

"Hello Professor I just wanted to talk to you for a moment if that's alright?"

"It certainly is," Dumbeldore smiled, "Have a seat. Lemon drop?" He offered Harry a candy as he took a seat across from him.

"No thank you," Harry replied politely, "I just came because I wanted to apologize for what happened."

"What happened?" Dumbeldore asked a hint of amusement in his eye.

"With the shrieking shack and Ron and all…I really am sorry."

"That is long forgotten Harry, water under the bridge as the saying goes," Dumbeldore smiled warmly, "You apologized the night it happened and you were forgiven there is no need to come back and apologize again."

"Thank you," Harry replied earnestly.

"Of course my boy, of course."

* * *

When Harry left Dumbeldore's office he noted that he had about ten minutes until lunch would start and if he wanted to get this done today, before his Herbology class he would have to hurry. Racing down the hall and praying that his godfather wasn't watching the map he skidded to a stop once more before knocking on the large oak door.

"Come in please."

Slowly Harry pushed the door open to find her as he had Dumbeldore, sitting behind her desk.

"Professor," he said in a soft voice.

"Harry! Is everything alright?"

He nodded quickly. "I was just hoping I could speak to you quickly before lunch."

"Of course you can, you can come talk to me anytime, you know that. Now what is this about?"

"I just wanted to apologize about what happened the other day in the shrieking shack. I know you and I never really discussed it but you got Sirius' letter and I just wanted to apologize for my actions and the fact that they got me taken off the Quidditch team."

Professor McGonagall smiled warmly at the boy. It was true when she had received the letter she was furious with him and once her anger had subsided she had even contacted Sirius to see if there wasn't some other way Harry could be disciplined that didn't involve one of her best players sitting the sport out but the man had been quite firm that his word stood.

"It's alright Harry, I spoke with Sirius and I understand his position."

Harry felt himself blush slightly. He sincerely hoped she didn't know the details of what had happened.

"The team will be waiting for you when you can come back," she continued.

* * *

Harry sat down to lunch feeling better than he had in days. He just had to get through lunch and then Herbology before his courage diminished or worse vanished altogether.

**TBC...**


	39. Chapter 39

**Author's Note: As always thank you all so very much for all the reviews, adds, private messages, etc. I really do appreciate every single one I get. Enjoy this chapter and I'll try and get the next one up soon but I'm thinking it'll probably be at least a week so my apologies for that.**

* * *

Herbology ended with Professor Sprout assigning her students an essay on Mandrakes and their uses due their first class back after the Christmas holiday.

"How can she assign us homework over Christmas?" Ron complained as he gathered his things, "Christmas is supposed to be a break from school."

"Professor Snape will assign something as well I am sure," Hermione added.

Ron sighed in disgust as the trio exited the room.

"Hey Harry do you want to play a game of chess before dinner?"

Harry shook his head, "I can't, I have to go talk to Remus real quick. Actually," he held out his books to his friend, "Can you take these and put them on my bed?"

Ron nodded.

"Is everything alright?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah everything is fine," Harry replied, "I'll talk to you guys later okay?"

But he didn't wait for a response, he as already off racing down the hall towards the Defense room.

He wasn't sure if Remus had a class at this time or not and so he was pleasantly surprised to find the classroom empty. He knocked on Remus' office door once hoping the man was there.

His courage was starting to diminish some and he was fighting hard to convince himself once more that this was a good idea and that although he was still upset with his godfather what he was going to do and how he was going to do it was for the best.

"Come in," Remus' voice spoke.

Harry pushed open the door to find Remus sitting at a small table in his office reading a book.

"Harry," Remus smiled, "How nice to see you!"

"Hi Remus," Harry replied as he walked across the room and took the seat at the table directly across from him. "Are you busy?"

"Not at all," Remus smiled closing his book, "Did you need something?"

"Just to talk to you."

"I'm all ears then," the older man smiled.

"I know that you weren't there when everything happened the other day but I felt like I should apologize to you anyway because I know that you do worry about me and if I worried you, I am sorry."

Remus smiled gently, "That's very kind of you Harry and I accept your apology."

"Thanks," Harry smiled and then his smile quickly vanished, "I also wanted to ask you a favor."

"What's that?"

"Can I please use your floo to go talk to Sirius?"

Remus nodded his smile growing, "Of course you may."

"Thanks," Harry replied before standing up and heading towards the fireplace.

Grabbing a handful of floo powder he took a deep breath and mustered up all the courage he had before stepping into the fire and stating his destination loud and clear.

* * *

Harry stepped into his living room to see his godfather sitting in his armchair reading the Daily Prophet.

"Harry!" Sirius spoke in a surprised voice.

Harry walked across the room and sat down on the couch before he opened his mouth to speak and when he did he tried to sound as brave as he possibly could.

"I have to talk to you Sirius so can you please just listen and not say anything until I am done."

"Harry what is this ab…"

"Sirius please," he cut his godfather off with his plea.

Sirius nodded softly, "Go ahead."

"I want you to know that I went to Snape, Dumbeldore, Remus, and Professor McGonagall and I apologized to all of them for what I did. I've thought about it a lot and I am sorry. I am sorry I lost my temper with you the other night, I'm sorry I said the things I did and I'm sorry I handled it the way I did. I'm sorry that I made you worry by going into the shrieking shack after Ron." Harry paused for a moment and stole a glance at his godfather. Sirius looked calm enough and Harry prayed he would stay that way after he said what he was about to say. "I'm not sorry I went after Ron though. I thought about everything you said but I still think I am right. Ron is my best friend Sirius and if it were you and my dad, you would have done the same thing I did, you know you would have. So I don't regret doing it and I'm not sorry I did."

Sirius was silent for several long moments and Harry silently prayed that his godfather wasn't going to start yelling, not that he yelled very often, or worse send him away telling him he was still grounded.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, Sirius spoke and when he did his voice was calm and even.

"You are right Harry, if something like had happened with your father and I, I would have done exactly what you did, I won't deny that."

"So then how can you be mad at me for this?" Harry asked in a voice that was almost a whine, "How can you honestly expect that I would leave Ron and go find help?"

"Perhaps I expect too much of you but I like to think you are much smarter than I was at your age and that after everything we have discussed you are really starting to realize that you take too many chances and that you have got to stop putting your life in danger."

"I do realize that Sirius but it was Ron!"

"I understand that Harry and I understand he is your best friend but I don't care who it is, I don't care if I am in danger, you get help you don't try and handle it all on your own. What would have happened had Severus not shown up in the shrieking shack? I heard most of the story from him and from what I understand Peter was seconds away from touching his dark mark. Do you realize that if he would have done so the death eaters would have arrived moments later? You, Hermione, and Ron could have been gone and no one would have even known what had happened."

Sirius had kept his voice at a normal level but there was no mistaking the sternness of it.

"So you're still mad at me?" Harry asked. He was concentrating hard on the fabric of the couch refusing to look at his godfather, refusing to see that disappointed look that he knew was on his face.

"I'm not mad at you Harry," Sirius spoke, "Like I said I understand your wanting to help Ron, I am disappointed because I really felt that last time you had finally understood that you can't keep doing things like this and when you came to me about Peter I really believed I had done the right thing in praising you for saving Ginny and giving you the potion and now I'm not so sure. Now I am feeling as if you haven't really learned anything at all."

"But I did," Harry argued keeping his voice normal and not giving into the part of him that wanted to yell, "This wasn't like the Chamber Sirius, when we went into the Chamber we planned that and we had a million opportunities to go get help, this with Ron just happened and maybe we should have ran inside and gotten a teacher but I just panicked and went after him."

"Do you know how horribly scared I was when I got word of what you had done?"

"I'm sorry," Harry croaked, "I never meant to worry you."

Sirius sighed to himself, "Look at me please Harry."

Slowly Harry brought his head up and forced his eyes to meet his godfathers.

"Perhaps I reacted too harshly to what happened and if you feel that I did then I am sorry. As I said, if it had happened to your father and I, I would have ran off after him as well without giving it a second thought but that still isn't an excuse for putting your life into danger yet again. You have absolutely no idea what it would do to me if I lost you."

Harry nodded. He wanted to apologize once more to give some sort of understanding of this but a nod would have to suffice, a lump in his throat had appeared as his godfather spoke and there was no way he was going to start crying over this.

Several long moments of silence passed before Harry was able to swallow the lump and speak.

"You hurt my feelings," he said in a voice that was just above a whisper.

"How?"

"You said," the lump had re-appeared and Harry swallowed it down quickly, "You said you shouldn't have told me you were proud of me for…"

"I shouldn't have said that," Sirius cut him off, "I've been regretting saying that since I said it. I never meant that I wasn't proud of you Harry. I am very proud of you…what I meant was that perhaps I shouldn't have been so vocal about being proud. I never meant for you to get the idea that risking your life is okay if you are saving someone else and the other night I thought maybe you had gotten that idea. I thought maybe you expected me not to be cross with you because you had been trying to save Ron. I never meant to hurt your feeling though and for that I am sorry."

Harry nodded; he supposed he could understand his godfather's way of thinking.

"Does that nod mean 'Yes Sirius I understand' or 'Yes that's what I thought'?"

"I guess a little of both," Harry admitted.

Sirius sighed, "You are an amazing person Harry. You care so much about other people…it's an amazing quality to have and you are very much like your mother in that sense. However, you have to understand that you can't just put your life in danger to save someone else's. It's just absolutely not acceptable and I know that you know that."

"I know," came the reply in a whisper.

""Yet you still do it," Sirius replied, "And I know that you feel this time was different and perhaps it was but the fact is you still put your life in danger again."

"I guess I'll go up to my room," Harry said softly as he began to stand.

"That won't be necessary."

He immediately sat back down, "It won't?"

To say Harry was shocked would be an understatement. He had been absolutely sure that after this discussion he would be sent to his room to be punished but if his godfather told him it wasn't necessary then he certainly wasn't going to push it.

"It won't," Sirius shook his head, "You're already being punished."

"But you said that when I was ready to talk we'd discuss my real punishment."

"I did," Sirius nodded, "And we will. You are going to remain grounded at school until you come home for the Christmas holidays."

Harry didn't want to ask the question he was about to ask but he had to know.

"Are you going to let me go to the Weasley's?"

"We can go for Christmas Eve and Christmas day but Molly already contacted me about possibly letting you go for a weekend and I'm sorry but that will not be happening. You won't be grounded once you are home but I think you should remain home."

"What about Quidditch?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"No Quidditch until after the Christmas holidays."

"But we play Slytherin tomorrow," he replied fighting to keep the whine out of his voice.

"And I'm sorry you have to miss such an important game but unless you'd like to go back to the prescribed punishment for putting your life in danger then the grounding remains."

Harry felt his face blush involuntarily. "No Sir."

A spanking may have been over in a few moments but this time Harry was well aware he wouldn't be getting any potion and all things considered there were a mere four days until he would be home for the holidays, he had already lasted four days surely he could last four more.

"But can I at least go to the game?" He asked the question praying for an answer he would like.

Sirius was quite for a moment before he shook his head slowly, "No you're grounded and that means no game Harry."

Harry's face fell. He wanted to argue that it wasn't fair considering everyone in the castle would be at the game but he knew better than to argue with his godfather. The last thing he wanted was to start another row or worse for Sirius to think he hadn't learned anything at all and decide he needed more punishment.

"And I want to make this more than clear to you, if you put your life in danger again no matter what the reason, I absolutely promise you that the outcome will not be good for you or your bum am I understood?"

Harry nodded quickly as he blushed profusely. There was no way he was putting himself in danger again, just no way.

* * *

It was close to suppertime when Harry returned to the castle and he was eager to go find Ron and tell him that he would in fact be going to his house for Christmas. However, the moment he stepped through the floo Remus closed his book and stood up quickly.

"Everything alright?" He asked and though he was trying hard to act as if he wasn't concerned Harry could clearly see that he was.

"Everything is good," Harry smiled.

"Will you be playing in the game tomorrow?"

"No," Harry shook his head, "I'm still grounded."

"I see," Remus nodded.

"After the Christmas holidays though I won't miss another game this season."

"That's good to hear Harry," Remus smiled warmly; "I'll see you at supper then?"

"Yeah, see you then," Harry replied as he headed towards the door, "And thanks again Remus."

"Anytime Harry, anytime."

**TBC...**


	40. Chapter 40

**Author's Note: My mom is finally home and recovering wonderfully, thank you all for the thoughts and prayers!!**

**As always thank you for the adds, reviews, private messages, etc. I tried to reply to them all but I know I missed some I just don't know which ones I missed but please know that they are all VERY appreciated!**

**This chapter is a little shorter then recent ones have been, my apologies for that I just really wanted to get it up. I'm going to try and update again before Sunday and I have about half of the first chapter of a new story done so look out for that too! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Harry sat in the Gryffindor common room trying his hardest to concentrate on his homework and ignore the fact that the castle was far quieter then he had ever heard it.

But then of course it was, every single person that was usually in the castle was down at the Quidditch pitch watching the game.

Harry had thought about cracking a window open in the common room so he could at least hear the game but when he gave that idea deeper thought he realized it would probably just make him miss being there more than he already was. He had also thought about taking his invisibility cloak and just going to watch some of the game, maybe only fifteen minutes of it but he had quickly discarded that idea. He was almost positive that with his cloak and if he was careful enough he wouldn't get caught but there was still the very small chance he would and the last thing he wanted to do was face his godfather if he did.

No, as much as he despised being grounded he was going to obey Sirius and do as he was told for the next three days until it was time to go home for the Christmas holidays and then he was going to be a perfect angel while he was home. And one thing was definitely for certain…he was never going to call his godfather out when it came to a punishment again.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when his fellow Gryffindors returned to the common room and Harry could instantly tell by their quiet demeanors…their lack of celebration that they had clearly lost the match.

The majority of his teammates that passed him gave him small comforting smiles as Ron and Hermione joined him at the small table.

"You're doing homework?" Ron asked in a disgusted voice.

Harry shrugged, "I had nothing else to do….we lost huh?"

Hermione nodded sadly, "Quite badly actually."

Harry sighed as he chewed on his lower lip, "How badly."

"750 to 230," Ron said with a sigh, "And those damn Slytherins…"

"Honestly Ron watch your language," Hermione cut him off causing Ron to roll his eyes.

Harry sighed once more.

"No one blames you," Hermione said quickly, "Everyone totally understands why you couldn't play and besides we play them again in a few weeks and then we'll win."

* * *

Harry dropped several puffer-fish eyes into his swelling solution potion before he peered across the table into Hermione's caldron. Her potion was bubbling nicely while his own was as flat and calm as a lake. Even Ron's potion, from what he could tell appeared to be coming along better than his own.

"Did Sirius say anything else about Christmas?" Ron whispered across the table.

Harry shook his head silently. He had already told Ron that his godfather had said they would still go and he had been pleasantly surprised to discover that Hermione's parents were going to be traveling to France for the holiday and were going to allow her to stay with the Weasley's while they were gone.

"Mum told Ginny she wanted to talk to all of us about it so I was just wondering if maybe Sirius had said…" Ron had started out speaking in a whisper but his voice had grown louder with each word.

"Mr. Weasley as thrilling as your story is I suggest you keep your mouth shut and work on your potion in silence before I take points from Gryffindor for your disturbance," Snape hissed from behind Ron.

Harry watched as the shade of Ron's face changed to match his hair and then sucked in his breath as Snape rounded the table and peered into his cauldron.

Harry watched as the man shook his head. "Absolutely dreadful Potter and as a result of such I expect an essay to be handed in the day your return from the holidays on where exactly you went wrong with this potion and how it may have been corrected."

Harry felt his insides boil as Snape turned and walked away and then without giving his actions a second thought he picked up a vile of salamander blood and threw it across the dungeon.

He heard Hermione gasp as it shattered against the wall but he didn't care.

Snape turned around so quickly that his robes nearly knocked Neville over.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor. And for that display of sheer immaturity Potter you can stay after class today."

Harry knew he should have been embarrassed by what he had just done but he wasn't. He was tired of Snape treating him like garbage and constantly picking on him in class.

Even as Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle snickered over in their corner his anger only grew instead of diminishing to be replaced by guilt.

He glanced up at his two best friends. Hermione was looking at him disapprovingly which he more than expected. Harry was well aware that she disliked Snape just as much as he did but in Hermione's eyes a teacher was still a teacher and you never showed them anything less then full respect. Ron, however, wore a strange expression on his face. He looked absolutely terrified at what Harry had just done and yet at the same time, he looked proud as well.

Moments later the class ended and Ron threw Harry a sympathetic look as he picked up his books and left the room but Harry didn't need his sympathy. So he would get detention, big deal. He was far past the point of carrying.

When the last student had left the room Snape walked across the room standing directly in front of Harry, towering over him.

Harry fought hard to remain angry and to not appear frightened or nervous at all but he couldn't bring himself to look up at Snape, instead he kept his eyes planted firmly on the ground.

"I'm sure your godfather tolerates your immaturity Potter but I can assure you I will not."

That did it. The single remark from Snape made all his anger re-appear within seconds and he bite his tongue hard as he could to keep himself from screaming in the greasy git's face.

Honestly, Snape mentioning Sirius made Harry think of him for the first time. His stomach flipped as he thought of what his godfather would say about his throwing a vile across a classroom.

"Aside from the essay I have already assigned you I expect another on the Draught of Peace and its uses as well as one on your actions in my classroom today and how you could have handled the situation better."

Harry's head shot up and he now looked Snape dead in the eye.

"What is Draught of Peace Sir?"

"A potion that I teach to my fifth year students, however, since you have time to disrupt my class I would assume that you can find more than enough time to research this potion and write a respectable essay on it."

The words left Snape's mouth before he waved his left hand through the air causing a piece of parchment to appear in it.

"You will also take this letter explaining your actions," Snape continued handing the parchment to Harry, "And you will have your godfather sign it over the holiday and hand it in to me along with your essays when you return to Hogwarts. I also wanted to make you aware that your lessons with me will continue after the holiday."

"Yes Sir," Harry replied in a small voice thoroughly hating himself for sounding so pathetic.

"And don't for even a moment think of signing it for him or asking another student too, it is protected by magic and only your godfather himself can sign his name, if anyone else tries the outcome will be most unpleasant."

"Yes Sir," Harry replied once more.

"You are dismissed Potter but be aware that if you ever disrupt my class as you did today again you will be serving detention with me until you graduate from this school. Am I understood?"

"Yes Sir."

* * *

"Blimey Harry I thought Snape was going to chop you up for ingredients right in front of the whole class!" Ron exclaimed moments later as the two of them sat in the common room.

"So then you really did what Ron said you did?" George asked his voice dripping with pride.

Harry nodded.

"Good for you Harry, the greasy git has had it coming," Fred added as he patted Harry on the back.

Hermione huffed to herself as she collected her books.

"He did Hermione," Ron nodded, "You have to admit he did, he's always picking on Harry"

"I don't have to admit anything," she replied, "You're lucky you're not suspended Harry. Now I am going to the library to get started on homework and I suggest you all do the same unless of course you fancy spending the Christmas holiday writing essays."

And with that she was gone.

"I don't care what she says," Ron said once Hermione had disappeared though the portrait, "He deserved it."

* * *

It was early in the afternoon when Harry stepped through the floo the following day. Sirius had told him that if he liked he could take the Hogwarts Express with his friends and Harry had almost said he would do so but the more he had thought about it the less he felt like traveling for hours to get home when he could simply step through the floo and do so.

The moment he stepped into his living room a smile appeared on his face. There in the corner that was normally empty stood a large Christmas tree. It was bare but to Harry it still looked amazing.

"I thought I heard you come through," Sirius smiled as he entered the room, "I was just in the kitchen making us some lunch. How does some tomato soup sound."

"Good," Harry smiled as he dropped his duffel bag onto the couch, "The tree is amazing Sirius."

"We still have to decorate it, of course I could wave a wand and be done with it but I thought it might be nice to do it the muggle way. I have quite a few boxes of decorations in the upstairs hall closet. I thought it might be nice to decorate it together but if you don't want to that's fine too, like I said a wave of my wand and…"

"No I want to," Harry cut off his godfather, "I've never decorated a tree before."

"Well then we'll do it together," Sirius smiled, "But for now let's go eat some lunch."

* * *

Harry sat in his normal seat at the kitchen table across from his godfather. The letter Snape had sent home with him was in his pocket and his plan was to show it to his godfather and get it over and done with as soon as possible but Sirius had nearly talked his ear off throughout lunch so far.

His godfather had been going on and on about a trip he was planning to the seaside for the summer.

It was all very interesting and exciting of course but Harry couldn't help but feel that his godfather was talking so much and being so overly nice because he felt guilty about Harry missing the Quidditch game.

"We're going to go for a few days," Sirius smiled, "I'd like to go longer but there may be another trip this summer as well."

"A trip where?"

Sirius' eyes danced with excitement, "It's a surprise but you'll find out soon enough I promise you."

Harry wanted to press the subject in hopes that his godfather would crack and then his mind wandered back to the letter burning a hole in the left pocket of his trousers once more.

"Sirius," he said in a soft voice.

"Hmmm?"

"I have to show you something," he replied as his hand slipped off the table and into his pocket.

Slowly he retrieved the letter and handed it to his godfather. He couldn't watch as Sirius opened it nor could he watch as he began to silently read. Instead he focused as hard as he could on the half empty bowl of tomato soup that sat in front of him.

Finally after several long moments he heard his godfather clear his throat.

"You threw a vile at Snape?"

"Not at him," Harry replied softly keeping his focus on the soup, "At the wall."

"Because?"

There was no mistaking the sternness of his godfather's voice.

Harry shrugged.

Sirius reached across the table and gently placed his thumb under Harry's chin forcing the boy to look up.

"Now I know that you know that a shrug isn't going to cut it." His voice was soft but stern.

"He's always picking on me," Harry explained softly, "For no reason at all and he said my potion was rubbish and assigned me a stupid essay over break because of it."

Sirius sighed to himself as he removed his thumb from its resting place and leaned back in his chair.

"I know that he can be difficult but he is still a teacher Harry and we've talked about you showing your teachers respect."

Harry nodded. It was true, they had talked about that.

"We've also talked about your controlling that temper of yours…several times I believe."

Harry nodded once more. That was also true.

"You are on holiday from school and I don't want to ruin that by punishing you so I will sign this and you will complete all the essays Snape assigned you and that will be the end of it but this had better not happen again. Got it?"

"Got it," Harry nodded in agreement.

Sirius waved his hand in the direction of the counter and a quill quickly flew across the room landing in his hand.

He scribbled his signature on the bottom of the letter before handing it back to his godson choking down a chuckle as he did so.

Harry raised an eyebrow at his godfather. He had heard that chuckle loud and clear and couldn't help the smile that quickly spread across his face.

"It's not funny Harry," Sirius forced himself to sound stern nearly breaking a rib in the process of holding his laugher in.

"You laughed!" Harry accused the amusement seeping through his voice.

"I did no such thing," Sirius smiled, "Now finish your lunch before I change my mind and sentence you to endless chores throughout your holiday."

Harry smiled back as he picked up his spoon. Sirius was kidding and he knew it. He knew for a fact that his godfather would never sentence him to never ending chores.

"You wouldn't," he smiled.

"No I wouldn't," Sirius chuckled, "but I am serious about never doing something like this again."

"I know you are," Harry nodded.

"Good. Now finish your lunch so we can go decorate the tree."

**TBC...**


	41. Chapter 41

**Author's Notes: First of all my apologies for taking forever to get this chapter up and for the length of this chapter...it's a short one, so yeah I'm sorry. The good news is that I'm back 110% and as of tomorrow afternoon I'm on Spring Break for two whole weeks so expect some updates as well as the first chapter of a new story I am working on and maybe a one shot I have in mind, we'll see. **

**So yeah I'm sorry for dissapearing for so long...enjoy this chapter...feedback is always appreciated...Oh and if you have a livejournal add me, miraleeann**

* * *

Sirius sat in his armchair handing his godson ornaments and occasionally giving his opinion on where an ornament was needed on the tree. It was more than obvious that Harry was thoroughly enjoying himself and although Sirius was enjoying the late afternoon as well he was also feeling extreme hate for the Dursleys. To think that his godson had never decorated a tree before…to see the extreme joy that such a normal task was brining him made Sirius want to floo to number 4 Pivet drive and cast a few spells that would leave the Dursleys dreading every horrible thing they had ever done.

"You know Pup, I was thinking you'll be home for almost two weeks…maybe over the weekend Ron could come stay overnight."

Harry didn't turn to look at his godfather as he hung a silver ball from one of the branches, "But you said it was part of my punishment to…"

"No," Sirius cut him off, "I said you couldn't go spend a weekend at the Weasley's and you can't however, Ron can come here if you'd like."

Honestly Harry not being allowed to go to Ron's for the weekend had very little to do with punishment and much more to do with the fact that his godson was only home for two weeks before going back to Hogwarts and Sirius didn't want to give him up for a whole weekend but of course, he wasn't about to admit that to his godson.

"Thanks Sirius that would be really cool," Harry smiled, "I'll ask him when we go over there on Christmas Eve."

Sirius smiled in reply as he handed his godson another ornament.

Harry took the ornament and as he did so his eyes couldn't help but notice the paper lying beside his godfather's chair on the table, a picture of Peter Pettigrew was on the front page along with the word WANTED above it and some smaller print about a reward below it.

"Do you think they'll find him?" Harry couldn't help but ask in a soft voice.

He really didn't want to bring up that day again but the words left his mouth before his brain even registered what he was saying.

"I'm sure they will," Sirius smiled an encouraging smile, "It's only a matter of time."

Harry half nodded as he headed back towards the tree with ornaments in his hands.

"It's not for you to worry about Pup, they'll catch him and when they do he'll be locked away in Azkaban."

"I'm not worried," Harry replied, "I'm not scared of him."

"That's because you are far too brave for your own good," Sirius chuckled before changing the subject, "I was thinking that tomorrow we could head down to Diagon Alley, it'll be an utter mess with people shopping for the Holiday but we need to purchase some gifts for the Weasley's and Remus as well."

"Sounds like fun," Harry nodded placing the last of the ornaments on the tree.

"Good, we'll go tomorrow then," Sirius replied before standing to take a better look at the tree.

Harry smiled as he watched his godfather inspect his work.

"It looks amazing Harry, really excellent."

* * *

The next few days passed by quickly and before Harry knew it he found himself at the Weasley's house on Christmas Eve. After a dinner that could have fed a small army Harry and Ron were sent off into the living room to play chess along with Fred, George and Ginny who were also banished from the kitchen.

"There probably talking about something important," Ron sighed as he pulled out the chess board and pieces, "Why else would they send us away?"

"They must be," George whispered loudly from his spot by the kitchen door, "I can hardly hear what they are saying they're speaking so softly."

"Shall we try the ears?" Fred asked with a slight smile.

"The what?" Harry asked.

"I'm not sure we can trust them," George smiled evilly, "They may run off and tell someone."

"Ginny won't tell anyone!" Ron promised.

"Of course she won't," Fred laughed, "It's you were worried about."

"I never tell on you for anything you do!" Ron argued as Harry watched George remove a long piece of string from his pocket

"What does it do?" Harry asked as he watched George place one end of the string in his ear.

"Go," George whispered as he smiled at Harry.

The string instantly slithered across the floor and under the kitchen door. It was then that George took the string out of his ear and held it in front of him as the others gathered around. Within seconds Molly Weasley's voice could be heard.

"Well thank goodness we don't have to worry about it, Percy would never enter and the others are far too young."

"When I heard of this over the summer I was sure Dumbeldore would cancel it before the time came, especially after everything that has already happened this school year," Sirius replied.

"It's a tradition," Remus spoke, "And I'm not sure Dumbeldore has the authority to just cancel it though I do see the concern after all with the chamber and now Peter."

"Harry isn't old enough to enter so it isn't a concern," Molly insisted, "I don't believe he would enter even if he was old enough now the twins are another story I thank Merlin they won't be able to."

Harry glanced around at his red headed friends, he had no idea what the adults were talking about and by the looks on the Weasley's faces neither did they.

"Are you going to tell Harry about it before he returns to school?" Remus asked.

Harry heard his godfather sigh and he could picture him perfectly running a hand through his long hair.

"I haven't decided yet," Sirius finally spoke, "But I should probably get him home, it is getting late."

George quickly pulled at the string and if flew out from under the kitchen door. Quickly he gathered it up and shoved it back in his pocket seconds before the kitchen door opened and Molly Weasley walked out.

"What are you kids doing just standing there like that?"

The boys all exchanged a glance before Ginny opened her mouth.

"They won't let me play chess with them," she complained, "They were trying to decide who was going to play first and they wouldn't even give me a chance at all."

"Boys please its Christmas, let your sister play."

* * *

Harry's head was resting comfortably on his pillow as he starred at his ceiling. He was wide awake, too wide awake for it to be well after midnight and now Christmas Day. Something was going to happen at Hogwarts. Something that Sirius knew about. Something he was too young to enter. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Ron or any of the other Weasley's about it as he had left with Sirius minutes after they had heard the conversation. A big part of him figured he was being silly. After all the adults knew all about it and he would find out soon enough by the sounds of it and he was too young to even have to worry about it but there was still a small part of him that couldn't help but be curious. There was a small part of him that wanted to know what was going on right now and not later but there wasn't much he could do about that, after all he wasn't even supposed to have heard the conversation it wasn't as if he could just go ask his godfather about it.

* * *

Despite the fact that he didn't fall asleep until much too late his eyes opened bright and early the following morning. He made his way down the stairs with plans to just go look at the tree before waking up his godfather but as he reached the bottom of the steps he looked over to find Sirius already sitting in his armchair.

"Oh good, you're up!" Sirius smiled brightly.

"I didn't think you would be," Harry admitted.

"I've only been up for a little while," Sirius replied as Harry entered the living room, "Happy Christmas Pup."

"Happy Christmas," Harry replied before his eyes drifted towards the tree and then nearly popped out of his head.

The night before there had been a few presents under the tree. A few for Harry from Remus and the Weasley's and a few for Sirius from the same people as well as one from his godson today, however, they seemed to have multiplied.

"Sirius what…"

"It's Christmas Harry and as far as I'm concerned you're first real one so enjoy it, you deserve it."

Harry smiled widely at his godfather, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," Sirius laughed, "Just enjoy it! And start opening presents. I've been going mental sitting here waiting for you to wake up."

"I don't know where to start," Harry admitted.

"Here," Sirius replied getting out of his armchair he sat down in front of the tree and picked up a small envelope, "This one is from Mr. Weasley and myself."

Harry sat down next to his godfather and slowly opened the envelope removing a ticket.

"I have one myself as does Arthur and Ron as well as his brothers and sister will be opening there's this morning," Sirius explained.

Harry looked down at the ticket which had the words, 'Quidditch World Cup', printed on it. His eyes widened.

"Sirius I…"

"It's over the summer of course so you won't be missing any school but I think it'll be a really excellent time."

"Thank you," Harry wrapped his arms around his godfather.

"You are very welcome make sure you thank Mr. Weasley as well."

"I will!" Harry nodded smiling.

The present opening went rather quickly after that and before Harry knew it Sirius was retreating to the kitchen to make them breakfast.

Harry jumped up from his spot on the living room floor and followed his godfather, "Do you want help?"

Sirius shook his head, "No just company."

Harry smiled as he took his spot at the kitchen table.

"We'll head over to the Weasley's right before lunch alright?"

"Mmhmm," Harry nodded smiling. There was still a small part of him that wanted to confess to his godfather that he had heard the conversation the previous night, after all keeping things from Sirius was behind him and so was lying but it was Christmas and he didn't want to ruin the holidays by admitting he had been eavesdropping and he certainly didn't want to cause a row. Besides he had clearly heard his godfather say that he might tell him about it before he returned to Hogwarts and if he didn't then he would find out when he returned. Still, his curiosity was brewing.

**TBC...**


	42. Chapter 42

**Author's Note: Enjoy! And as always feedback is appreciated!**

* * *

"What time did Mrs. Weasley say he was coming?" Harry asked as he ate the last bite of his breakfast.

"Just after lunch," Sirius replied.

"But that's ages away, what are we going to do all morning?"

"You could work on this essays you were assigned."

Harry made a face at this suggestion. He knew he had to do them but he really didn't plan on doing so until the last minute. "Do I have to?"

Sirius glanced up at his godson noting his pathetic face. "It wouldn't kill you to do just one this morning Pup and then when Ron gets here you two can play Quidditch all afternoon."

"It's not even fair that I have to do them," Harry muttered under his breath.

"Perhaps not but unfortunately life is not fair and you did throw a vile at him, you're lucky you got off with just some extra assignments I would think he would press for you to be expelled for such behavior," Sirius noted.

"I didn't throw it at him, I threw it at the wall I told you that!" Harry exclaimed.

"Regardless you still threw it. Did you expect me to tell you that you didn't have to do the assignments?"

Harry shook his head. He hadn't expected that, honestly he had expected his godfather to punish him further and really Sirius had been pretty cool about the whole thing.

"Alright I'll do one of the essays today," he agreed in a heavy voice.

"I'm glad you agreed, I was afraid I'd have to chain you to your desk to get you to do it," Sirius chuckled as he cleared the table.

"Will you fly with me and Ron tonight?" Harry asked changing the subject completely, "We don't have to play Quidditch we could just fly around."

"I've actually been meaning to talk to you about tonight," Sirius said as he took his seat across from his godson once more, "I have to go out."

"Out?"

Sirius nodded, "Just for an hour or so and I spoke to Molly, she is fine with you boys staying here alone so long as you promise to floo to Ron's if you have any problems."

"Are you going to a meeting?" Harry asked bluntly.

Sirius sighed softly as he nodded.

"Well then can't we come too? I mean come on Sirius we're not little kids."

"I forgot you're full grown adults," Sirius chuckled.

"I'm being serious!" Harry replied in an exasperated voice, "We've fought him twice now and won both times!"

"And that's quite extraordinary and at the same time extremely distressing," Sirius sighed and then spoke in a soft voice, "You know how I feel about it Pup, you are far too young to be worrying about such things and the last place you need to be is at the meeting tonight." He paused for a moment before speaking again. "And I know you are aware of how I feel about your risking your life."

"I know," Harry replied blushing involuntarily, "But Sirius I…"

"No," Sirius shook his head, "No buts, no pleas, and no arguments. Now can I trust you and Ron to stay in this house tonight or do I need to floo call Molly and ask her to send along Percy to keep an eye on you two?"

"No", Harry quickly shook his head, "You can trust us."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure," he nodded, "We'll be really good."

"Good," Sirius smiled, "Now I believe that essay is calling your name."

"Wait," Harry said softly.

"What is it Pup?"

"Will you at least tell me what the meeting is about?" He asked in a soft voice.

Harry knew there was a huge chance that his godfather would deny his request and send him up to do his homework or worse decide he was too curious and make good on his threat to floo call Mrs. Weasley and have Percy come watch them as if they were some sodding toddlers but he had to take his chances, after all Sirius had told him he was going to a meeting, he hadn't just said to visit Remus, he had trusted him that much.

"It's about several things," Sirius responded after a moment of silence, "Now you really should get started on that essay."

"Oh," Harry replied, "Okay then."

Clearly his godfather wasn't going to tell him. Slowly he pulled himself from his chair and headed out of the kitchen.

Sirius sighed loudly behind him. "Oh alright you curious little menace you, sit back down."

Harry couldn't help the smile that covered his face as he took his seat once more.

"Against my better judgment I'll tell you but…and I'm serious here Harry…I swear to Merlin if I find out that you were out of this house tonight and…."

"You won't," Harry shook his head quickly his eyes pleading with his godfathers, "I promise Sirius we won't go there tonight or ever again…unless we're allowed."

Sirius sighed softly before he nodded once. "Do you know what a Dementor is?"

Harry racked his brain as he tried to remember if he had ever learned anything about them before he shook his head.

"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, and they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. Even Muggles feel their presence, though they can't see them. Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling; every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself...soul-less and evil. You will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life. They are the guards at Azkaban"

Harry felt a chill overtake his body as he listened to his godfather speak.

"Because of the situation with Pettigrew when you return to Hogwarts they will be guarding the exterior of the grounds to be sure that he isn't coming and going from the castle as Dumbeldore believes he has left."

"But what if the Dementors come in the castle?"

"They won't, they know where they are supposed to be and why," Sirius explained, "But I don't want you out of the castle after sundown and I don't want you anywhere near the exterior of the grounds."

"Okay," Harry breathed.

"Now when you return to Hogwarts there is to be a tournament called the Triwizard Tournament, it's not a concern because you aren't old enough to enter thank Merlin as it's really a dangerous tournament but there will be a vast change in the number of people in the castle because of it so I want you to be extra careful. I know I just said that Dumbeldore believes that Pettigrew is gone and I do trust Dumbeldore but you can never be too safe Harry so please do your best to try and avoid wandering around the castle at all hours of the night."

"Okay," Harry sighed.

"And I want you to promise me that no matter what you won't go looking for Pettigrew."

"I won't," Harry said quickly, "I promise."

* * *

Several hours had passed and Harry and Ron had just finished their supper as Sirius bid them both goodbye before giving Harry a look that Ron missed entirely and Harry clearly knew was one last warning to behave.

"So are we going to change into our pajamas again before we go?" Ron asked once he was sure Sirius was gone.

"No," Harry shook his head.

"Good because it was awful cold in there last time."

"No," Harry repeated, "I meant no we aren't going there."

"Why not? We never got caught the last time and they are probably talking about some great stuff Harry!"

Harry resisted the urge to tell Ron that Sirius did in fact know they had gone last time and that he had gotten whacked for it and instead took a different route.

"Sirius told me what the meeting is about tonight. There's going to be Dementors guarding the outside of Hogwarts and there is going to be a Triwizard tournament when we get back."

Ron's eyes opened wide with amazement. "See now we have to go! Dementors are horrible Harry we have to find out more about this!"

Harry shook his head, "I promised we wouldn't and besides Percy will probably come here to check on us like last time and if we aren't here we'll get caught."

Ron sighed, "I guess."

Harry glanced up at his friend and saw the look of disappointment on his face and honestly he was disappointed too. He would love to have gone and had an adventure tonight and found out everything they could and a year ago he would have without giving it a second thought but things we're different now and he just couldn't. He had promised his godfather that he wouldn't and so he wouldn't, it was as simple as that.

"Look I'm sorry," Harry said softly, "But I promised Sirius. We can do something else, anything you want."

"Can we go out back and fly around some?"

Harry knew he really wasn't supposed to be flying around outside after dark and he also knew from staying with the Weasley's that Ron wasn't allowed to do so either but he figured flying wasn't nearly as bad as going to the meeting and besides they could be careful enough not to get caught.

"Yeah, I mean just for a little bit, we have to be back inside before Sirius gets home or Percy checks on us."

"Wicked!" Ron smiled and on that note the boys jumped up from the table and retrieved the brooms from the closet before heading outside.

* * *

For a good hour they raced back and forth, as it was much too dark to play Quidditch, before Harry landed firmly on the ground.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked as he glided down next to him.

"Nothing, I just think we should probably go in now before we get caught."

Ron nodded as he followed his friend towards the house.

The door wasn't even open all the way when Harry heard the voice.

"And just where in Merlin's name have you two been?"

Percy.

Harry looked down at his broom in his hand and knew that lying would do him absolutely no good.

"We were just flying around."

"It's nearly ten at night, honestly Ronald you know better."

"We were fine," Ron argued, "We didn't do anything wrong."

Percy made a snorting noise at this. "We'll see what mum thinks about that and Sirius as well."

Harry's shoulders sagged slightly as he watched Percy march off.

"Percy is a great git," Ron complained, "Mum is gonna murder me. You're lucky, I know Sirius won't care."

Harry fought the urge to make a face at his friend. "Yeah he will Sirius doesn't let me fly at night."

Ron shrugged as he placed the broom he had been riding beside Harry's.

"Maybe he won't tell," Harry said in a hopeful voice.

"Have you met Percy?" Ron asked in an exasperated voice. "Of course he'll tell, he **lives** to tell!"

Harry and Ron were spread across the living room floor playing a game of chess when Sirius stepped back through the floo. Harry concentrated hard on the pieces in front of him avoiding looking in the direction of his godfather for fear that Percy had made good on his promise.

"Your mum asked me to send you home Ron, apparently some mischief happened while I was out."

Ron sighed before he pulled himself up of the floor and picked up his overnight bag that had been sitting on the couch.

"I'm real sorry," Ron said softly to Sirius and Harry couldn't help but make a face, _easy for him to be sorry_, he thought, _he was leaving._

"It's alright," Sirius smiled warmly, "But I think its best not to keep your mum waiting."

Harry heard Ron sigh once more before he disappeared through the floo.

For several moments after Ron left Harry continued to lie on his stomach starring at the chess board and he could feel his godfather's eyes on him.

"You know you can't stay like that forever, at some point you're going to have to get up and face the music," Sirius noted.

The moment the words left his godfather's mouth Harry rolled over onto his back and then sat up slowly, "I'm sorry", he said the words in a voice hardly above a whisper.

Sirius sighed as he crouched down next to his godson.

"Out flying in the dark? You know better than that Harry James."

Harry nodded once concentrating hard on his knees which he had pulled up to his chest as Sirius spoke.

"Forget the fact that you know I don't allow you to do that unless I am with you, just this morning I spoke to you about being extra careful because Pettigrew is out there."

"At Hogwarts," Harry said softly.

"What was that?"

"You said to be extra careful at Hogwarts," Harry repeated, this time louder.

"Okay you're right I did," Sirius sighed, "But you still know you aren't allowed to fly once the sun has set, correct?"

Harry nodded once again.

"Molly nearly blew a gasket when she heard what you two had done."

Harry winced at this news. He had seen Mrs. Weasley lose her temper and it wasn't a pretty sight…not a pretty sight at all.

"And I assume the plan was to be back inside before I would arrive home and therefore be sure you wouldn't be caught."

Harry didn't respond to this, his godfather knew him too well to ever believe that wasn't the plan and besides it didn't sound to him like Sirius wanted an answer.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Harry shrugged softly.

The last thing Sirius wanted was to punish his godson. After all he knew what it was like to be Harry's age and home alone with a mate spending the night, he knew how tempting it was to break a rule or two, however he also knew that this shrugging and hardly talking wasn't going to get them anywhere and he knew what had to be said to get his godson's attention.

"If you don't understand that this is serious and that simply sitting there and shrugging isn't going to cut it then perhaps a sore behind would help you realize."

Harry's head immediately snapped up. "No Sirius, I **do** understand and I'm sorry. Ron wanted to follow you and I wouldn't go and so I told him we could do anything he wanted and when he suggested flying I didn't want to tell him we couldn't do that either and I figured flying for a little bit wasn't nearly as bad as following you."

As the final words left his mouth Harry's head dropped once more and he went back to concentrating on his knees.

Sirius worked hard to keep his stern demeanor and not break into a chuckle or even a smile as his godson opened up. _One small comment was all it took_, he thought to himself.

"So you broke one rule to avoid breaking another?" As the realization of what Harry had said hit him he couldn't help but keep the smile from dancing at the corners on his mouth.

"Well when you say it like that it sounds dumb," Harry said softly.

The smile on his godfather's lip spread a bit wider before he quickly controlled it.

"Look at me please Harry."

Slowly he brought his head back up and forced his eyes to meet his godfathers.

"I am proud of you for not allowing Ron to pressure you into following me but next time please find something to do that does not include you being in the air at night."

"Okay," Harry replied.

"Now I'm going to have some tea, would you care to join me?" Sirius asked as he stood up.

"That's it?" Harry couldn't help the confused voice that left his body or the confused face that he looked up at his godfather with.

"What's it?"

"That's all you're going to say? I'm not punished? I was flying outside in the dark Sirius." Harry replied in a serious voice.

"I'm well aware of what you did," Sirius couldn't help but chuckle as he headed towards the kitchen.

Harry jumped up to follow his godfather. "Aren't you cross?" he asked in a curious voice.

"I suppose I was when I first heard about it," Sirius answered honestly as he put the kettle on to the stove, "But I know that you know that you were wrong and I trust that you won't do it again. Why? Would you like to be punished?"

Harry quickly shook his head as he sat down at his regular place at the table, "No."

"I didn't think so," Sirius smiled, "I don't know why you're so amazed by this Pup. Did you honestly think I'd put you across my knee for riding your broom tonight?"

"Yes," Harry answered without a moment of hesitation.

He heard Sirius chuckle softly over by the stove. "Harry I remember all too well what it is like to be your age and to break rules simply to have some fun and Ron has left which is probably punishment enough, now don't get me wrong if this happens again you will be in trouble but tonight I don't see a need to press the matter, you are sorry for what you have done yes?"

"Yeah I really am," Harry answered honestly.

"And you won't do it again correct?"

"I won't, I promise."

"Okay then, let's just enjoy our tea and forget about it," Sirius smiled kindly as he placed a teacup in front of Harry and took his seat with his own tea in his hand.

"How was the meeting?" Harry asked hoping that since Sirius shared the details of the meeting with him earlier he would do so again.

"It was productive as I expected it to be," Sirius replied before sipping his tea, "Dumbeldore is really quite certain that with the Dementors in place Pettigrew will be caught much quicker."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Well Pup Dumbeldore thinks that once you are back at Hogwarts it will only be a matter of time before he tries to enter the school again and I'm inclined to agree with him."

"But what if he's still in the school now?"

"The school and the grounds have been thoroughly searched Pup, he's not I promise you."

"Can you tell me more about this tournament?" Harry asked.

"Well there are three schools involved Pup, Hogwarts of course and then Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and Durmstrang Institute. So you see those other students as well as their professors will be visiting and staying at Hogwarts during the duration on the tournament."

"But what is the tournament?" Harry asked. "I mean what's it like?"

"It happens every five years and it moves from school to school, this year is Hogwarts turn. One champion is selected from each school and then they compete in a series of events designed to test their magical powers but the tests are very dangerous Pup."

"If it's so dangerous why do they have it?"

"Well to build friendships between the schools and to give the chosen students a chance to do something extraordinary I suppose, the winner of the tournament receives a thousand galleons."

"Wow," Harry breathed as he quickly did the math in his head and realized that in his seventh year it would be time for the tournament once more.

"I'd never allow you to enter and I thank Merlin you are too young this year," Sirius replied as if he could read his godson's thoughts, "It's far too dangerous."

"Do you think Ron's okay?" Harry asked changing the subject without notice.

"I think Ron is just fine, sometimes I wonder if Molly's bark is just a tad worse than her bite," Sirius smiled, "I also think it's getting late and you should probably head up to bed."

"It isn't that late," Harry noted.

"It's close to midnight and I know how you get when you don't get enough sleep."

"How do I get?" Harry asked in an innocent voice.

"Exactly how your father used to," Sirius smiled, "Now go on, I'll be up in a moment to tuck you in."

"Alright," Harry agreed as he pulled himself from the table and slowly headed up the stairs.

He had to admit the tournament did sound exciting though he wasn't sure he'd ever want to be a part of it, watching it would be great fun. It might also be fun to have so many new people at Hogwarts, and if not fun at least interesting.

**TBC...**


	43. Chapter 43

**Author's Note: My apologies, this chapter is a bit shorter than usual. Enjoy! Feedback is always appreciated and thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and emailed.**

* * *

The rain splattered against the windows of the Hogwarts Express making it hard to see anything outside at all.

"So other schools are going to be coming to Hogwarts?" Ron asked.

Harry nodded, "That's what Sirius said."

"It'll be quite interesting," Hermione noted, "You know to see how they are with their studies."

The boys nodded though the last thing on Harry's mind was studies.

"I'm not sure I was supposed to tell you guys so don't say anything."

The words were hardly out of Harry's mouth when the trio heard Malfoy just outside their compartment.

"Father actually considered sending me to Durmstrang, he knows the headmaster there and he hates that Dumbeldore is such a Mudblood lover and Durmstrang doesn't admit their sort. And Father says that Durmstrang takes a far more sensible line than Hogwarts about the Dark Arts."

Hermione quickly slid the compartment door shut blocking out Malfoys voice.

"I wish he had gone there," she muttered, "Then we wouldn't have to put up with him."

"Of course he would know," Ron muttered, "Stupid git."

"Where is Durmstrang anyway?" Harry asked.

"No one knows," Hermione replied casually.

"What do you mean no one knows?" Harry asked.

"Durmstrang and Beauxbatons conceal their whereabouts so nobody can steal their secrets."

Ron laughed at this. "Durmstrang has to be about the same size as Hogwarts, how can you hide a big castle?"

"Hogwarts **is** hidden Ronald."

"It is?" both Harry and Ron asked in amazement.

"Have you two ever bothered to read _Hogwarts; A History_?" Hermione asked smiling in spite on herself, "It's bewitched if a muggle looks at it, all they see is an old rundown building with a sign over the entrance saying, 'Danger, do not enter."

"So no one knows where it is?" Harry asked once more.

Hermione shook her head, "No but I think it's somewhere North, somewhere cold because they've got fur caps as part of their uniform."

* * *

The rain grew heavier and heavier as they traveled making the cabins darker and darker and causing the lanterns to be lit halfway through the trip.

Hermione was curled up in her seat reading quietly as Harry and Ron sat bored. After playing several games of exploding snap they were ready to be off the train.

"We must be nearly there," Ron noted as he peered out the window.

The words had just left his mouth when the train started to slow down.

"I told you," Ron smiled as he stood up and stretched, "Thank Merlin too because I'm ready for dinner."

"We can't be there yet," Hermione spoke as she closed her book.

"Then why are we stopping?" Ron asked.

The train was moving slower and slower and the rain outside sounded louder and louder.

Harry shrugged as he got up and stuck his head out of the compartment door to investigate but all he found was everyone else doing the same thing. The suddenly the train jolted to a stop and went pitch dark.

"What's going on?" Ron asked loudly.

"Ouch!" Hermione gasped, "Ron that was my toe!"

"Sorry," Ron mumbled.

Harry felt his way back to his seat, "Do you think we've broken down?" He asked his friends.

"I don't know," Hermione answered honestly.

Harry watched as Ron wiped an area of the window clean.

"See anything?" He asked.

"There's someone out there," Ron answered, "I think someone is coming on the train."

Hermione sighed loudly, "I'm going to go ask the driver what's going on."

She stood to exit the compartment but before she could reach for the door it opened quickly.

"Stay where you are," Remus instructed as he entered the compartment.

"Remus what's going on?" Harry asked.

Remus opened his mouth to answer but before he could he saw a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling, its face completely hidden by its hood. Harry's eyes drifted downward to see a hand that looked as though it had been dead for years and decayed. Harry heard the thing breath and an intense cold swept over his body. And then from miles away he heard someone screaming and he wanted to help them but he couldn't, he was lost in a thick white fog.

* * *

"Harry!" Harry! Are you alright?" He heard Hermione's voice as someone gently slapped his face.

Slowly he opened his eyes to see Remus, Hermione, and Ron crouched around him. He was lying on the floor of the compartment.

"What happened?" He asked. "What was that thing and who screamed?"

"That was a Dementor Harry," Remus spoke softly, "Here eat this."

He handed Harry a square of chocolate.

Harry looked up at Remus with confused eyes.

"It will help," Remus smiled though Harry could tell the smile was forced.

Harry slipped the chocolate into his mouth.

"Are you okay?" Remus asked his face much more serious than Harry had ever seen it.

Harry nodded as he pulled himself up off the floor and back into his seat, "Yeah."

"You're sure now?"

"Yes," Harry nodded once more.

"Alright, I'm going to go speak to the driver, I'll be back in a moment."

Harry waited until Remus was gone before he spoke again.

"What happened?" He asked his friends.

"Well the Dementor came in here and looked around," Hermione explained, "And you…you started to…"

"I thought you were having a fit," Ron cut her off; "You started shaking and fell out of your seat."

"And Professor Lupin stepped over you and told the Dementor that none of us are hiding Peter Pettigrew under our cloaks and to leave but it didn't so then he muttered something and it just sort of glided away," Hermione finished.

"Did either of you feel anything when it came in?" Harry asked.

"I felt weird," Ron answered, "Like I'd never be happy again."

"But did either of you fall off your seats?"

"No" Hermione shook her head.

Remus walked back into the compartment, "We should be at Hogwarts in ten minutes. Are you sure you are alright Harry?"

"I'm fine," came the reply.

Harry couldn't help the embarrassment that had swept over his body. Why did he fall apart when Hermione and Ron had been just fine?

* * *

Ten minutes later, as Remus had promised, the train pulled up at Hogsmeade station and Harry, Ron, and Hermione took a coach to the castle in silence.

As they entered the castle they headed towards the Great Hall.

"Potter! A word please!"

Harry turned to see Professor McGonagall standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"There's no need to look that way, I just want a word in my office," she continued as Harry made his way towards her.

Harry followed her in silence to her office, wondering what in the world he could have possibly done to get himself into trouble already.

Once in the office Professor McGonagall took a seat behind her desk and motioned for Harry to be seated as well.

"Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you were taken ill on the train, I suspect Sirius will be here any moment."

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but as he did two things happened. Sirius stepped through the floo and Madam Pomfrey came in through the door.

Harry felt his face blush involuntarily. It wasn't bad enough that he had fainted; now everyone was going to make a fuss.

"I'm fine," he tried to explain quickly, "I don't need…"

"Harry," Sirius said softly already by his godson's side, "Let Madam Pomfrey look you over."

"Setting Dementors around the school," Madam Pomfrey muttered as she placed a hand on Harry's cheek, "He's all clammy that's the effect that have on people who are already in a delicate state you know."

"I'm not in a delicate state," Harry made a face.

Madam Pomfrey didn't reply but began to take his pulse and Sirius simply gave Harry a small reassuring smile.

"What does he need?" Professor McGonagall asked, "Should he spend tonight in the hospital wing?"

"I'm fine!" Harry all but yelled.

"Now Harry…" Sirius started.

"He needs chocolate at the very least," Madam Pomfrey cut his godfather off.

"Rem…Professor Lupin already gave me some."

"Are you sure you feel alright?" Sirius asked.

"I do...I promise I do," Harry replied.

Sirius sighed as he nodded, "Alright if Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall say it's alright I suppose you can head on down to supper."

Professor McGonagall gave a sharp nod and Harry jumped up not bothering to wait for Madam Pomfrey's response.

"Thanks Sirius," he breathed giving his godfather a quick hug before rushing out of the office and down to the Great Hall.

* * *

"Did Dumbeldore give any announcements yet?" Harry asked as he took a seat next to Ron and Fred and across from Hermione and Ginny.

Hermione shook her head, "Not yet, but I think he's about to."

Harry looked up at the front of the room to see Dumbeldore moving towards the center. Once there, he held up his hands for silence.

"First of all, welcome back," Dumbeldore smiled kindly, "As I am sure you are all aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, we are now playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here solely for your protection and at the order of the Ministry of Magic. They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds and while they are here I must stress the rule that no one is to leave the school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or even invisibility cloaks."

Harry glanced at his friends to see Hermione's embarrassed face and Ron's amused one and quickly shared a small smile with Ron.

"Now for some more exciting news," Dumbeldore continued, "Hogwarts is to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the remainder of the school year. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place."

"No WAY!" George Weasley said very loudly.

"Yes way!" Dumbeldore smiled causing several students including Ron and Harry to burst into laughter.

"The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in two weeks with their short listed contenders and the selection of the three champions will take place in three weeks. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand galleons in prize money."

"I'm going for it," Fred and George immediately said in unison.

"I know many of you are eager to participate in this tournament however, there is an age restriction," Dumbeldore continued, "Only students who are of age…seventeen years or older…will be able to put their name forward to compete. This is necessary as the tasks will take great skill and the Ministry as well as myself and the other headmasters and professors do not feel that a student below sixth or seventh year would be able to cope with them. Therefore I will be personally making sure that no under age student impartial judge into making them a Hogwarts champion. And with that being said, enjoy your supper and welcome back once more."

"They can't do that!" Fred said angrily, "We're close enough to being of age."

"Yeah," George agreed, "And the champions will get to do all sorts of stuff we'd never be allowed to do normally plus there's the thousand galleons prize!"

"Yeah," Ron muttered, "A thousand galleons."

"Who's the impartial judge?" Harry asked.

"Dunno," said Fred, "But I bet a few drops of aging potion will fool them."

"Dumbeldore knows you're not of age," Hermione pointed out.

"Dumbeldore doesn't pick the champions," George noted.

"But people have died in this tournament in the past," Hermione answered in a worried voice.

"If we find a way around it are you two going to enter?" Fred asked.

"It would be cool," Ron said in a far off voice but Harry immediately shook his head.

"I don't want to enter," he said honestly.

**TBC...**


	44. Chapter 44

**Author's Note: **I apologize for this chapter being on the shorter side, I just really wanted to get it up as it's been awhile. Sorry about that as well, I've been sick…again, blah!

As always thank you for all the feedback! I really appreciate it more than you'll ever know! Seriously guys, you inspire me so thank you!!

Miranda

* * *

** Two Weeks Later**

"You have to admit it does sound wicked," Ron said, "I mean imagine being the Hogwarts champion!"

Hermione shook her head once more disagreeing with him.

The three of them had been discussing the tournament all throughout breakfast and Hermione had been adamant that anyone who would enter the tournament was completely mental. Harry had been nodding in agreement with her but saying very little. Honestly he didn't think it would be all that mental to enter but he agreed anyway because he knew he couldn't enter and more importantly he knew that even if he could Sirius would never allow it.

"Fred said he thinks that him and George got the age potion right," Ron continued speaking more to Harry alone now rather than Harry and Hermione, "He said we could try some too if we wanted."

"Err, no thanks," Harry muttered.

He remembered his godfather's words on Christmas Eve and though he wasn't completely positive, he was pretty sure that using an age potion to enter a dangerous tournament that he wasn't old enough to enter qualified as putting himself in danger.

"I think I'm going to try it."

"Don't be mental, Dumbeldore knows how old you are so even if the potion does work you'll get into massive trouble for it," Hermione interjected.

"What time are they supposed to get here?" Harry asked speaking of the other schools that were supposed to be arriving later in the day.

"I think around lunchtime," Hermione answered sounding happy that the subject was changed even if only slightly changed.

Ron sighed, "But it would be wicked, admit it would be wicked Hermione."

Harry smiled rolling his eyes and Hermione and Ron started their argument up once more.

* * *

Harry stepped out of the portrait on his way to the great hall for lunch when he walked almost directly into Snape.

"Honestly Potter would it kill you to watch where you are going?" Snape hissed.

"I didn't see you there Sir."

Snape made a face as if he couldn't be bothered with the excuse. "Nevermind that, while I have you here I'll take the opportunity to tell you that we will resume our lessons tomorrow evening, I trust that you spent your holiday practicing?"

"Yes Sir," Harry answered though he hadn't practiced once.

"And I expect you to being the essays I assigned with you as well."

"Yes Sir," Harry nodded silently thanking his godfather for making him do them over the holiday.

Snape nodded, "Now I suggest you get to lunch Potter."

* * *

"Can't you just tell Sirius you don't want to do them?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head, "I tried but he thinks it's important."

"Of course it's important," Hermione replied, "Anything that will help you defend yourself is more than important."

The great hall was loud with the noise of the entire school chatting through their lunch and then suddenly Dumbeldore stood and moved towards the middle of the front of the room causing silence to spread throughout the room.

"I apologize for interrupting your lunch," Dumbeldore smiled kindly, "However our guests have arrived and will be joining us in a moment but before they do I would like to remind you that they are in fact our guests and I expect nothing but gracious and kind behavior towards them. They are in a school much different from their own and it may take some time for them to become accustom to our lifestyle so please help them in any way you can. And now please welcome Madame Maxime and her pupils."

The doors to the great hall opened and everyone in the hall immediately turned their bodies to see who would enter. A lady that seemed to be as big as Hagrid appeared in the doorway and then slowly made her way down the aisle followed by a dozen girls dressed in blue.

Harry couldn't help but notice that they were all pretty and from the look on Ron's face he had noticed as well.

Madam Maxime stopped for a moment and spoke to Dumbeldore before she and her class took a seat at a table to the side of the room that had seemed to appear in the past few moments.

"Please welcome Professor Karkaroff and his students," Dumbeldore announced once all the girls had been seated.

Harry turned his head back towards the entrance to see a tall scruffy man entering the hall followed by a dozen boys.

As they walked towards the front of the room Harry couldn't help but notice that one looked familiar though he couldn't quite place where he knew him from.

"Krum," Ron hissed across the table.

"Who?" Harry asked in a hushed voice.

"Viktor Krum!" Ron hissed once more trying to keep his voice down.

The name suddenly hit Harry. That's where he knew the boy from, his Quidditch magazines.

Like Madam Maxime had, Karkaroff stopped and spoke with Dumbeldore for a moment before sitting with his pupils.

"I don't believe he is here!" Ron practically shrieked in a whisper.

It was hard not to notice that as Krum had walked down the aisle, practically every girl in Hogwarts had lost themselves.

"He's just a Quidditch player," Hermione muttered.

"_Just _a Quidditch player? Hermione he is the best seeker in the world!"

Hermione rolled her eyes as Dumbeldore began to speak once more.

"I would like to take a few moments and welcome you all to Hogwarts," he smiled warmly, "I hope that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable. I know your Professors have spoken to you about the school rules and I trust there won't be any problems as far as they are concerned. The tournament will open tonight and those of age are welcome to enter their names into the goblet."

"The huh?" Harry asked.

Ron and Hermione shrugged but his question was quickly answered as Filch came rushing towards Dumbeldore carrying a wooden chest encrusted with jewels.

"The tournament," Dumbeldore continued, "Will consist of three tasks, as you all know, three champions will compete, one from each school. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the tasks and the champion will the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup, the prize money, and of course the title of Triwizard Champion."

The great hall was absolutely silent as Dumbeldore tapped his wand to the top of the chest, it seemed as though no one was breathing.

The lid of the chest opened and Dumbeldore reached inside and pulled out a large wooden cup that appeared to be filled with blue and white flames. Slowly Dumbeldore closed the chest and placed the cup on top of it in the front of the great hall.

"Anyone who wishes to enter the tournament must write their name and school clearly upon a piece of parchment and drop it into the goblet. You have but a little over twenty four hours to do so, tomorrow night, after supper, the goblet will return the names of the champions. To ensure that no underage students enter, I will be drawing an age line around the goblet and nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line," Dumbeldore smiled once more, "Now please carry on with and enjoy your lunch."

"An age line?" Harry heard Fred laugh down the table, "Well that'll be easy enough to fool and once you have your name in you can just say you don't know how it happened."

"Mental," Hermione muttered under her breath, "Completely mental."

* * *

The next morning before breakfast Harry, Ron, and Hermione hung around the great hall eager to see who would put their names into the cup. So far practically every student from Durmstrang had done so but they were all.

"Just taken it," Fred announced as he ran up behind the trio.

"What?" Ron asked.

"The aging potion," George answered, "Just one drop each."

"We only need to be slightly older you know."

"I'm sure Dumbeldore will have thought of this," Hermione said but the twins ignored her completely.

"I'll go first," George smiled as he pulled a slip of parchment from his pocket.

Taking a deep breath George stepped across the line and a smile immediately spread across his face as Fred joined him.

Harry smiled as well, convinced it had actually worked. And then there was a loud sound and the twins were thrown out of the circle as long white beards sprouted onto their faces.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"I told you," Hermione laughed loudly.

"As did I," Dumbeldore smiled as he entered the hall, "You two had best get up to Madam Pomfrey."

Fred and George headed up the to hospital wing leaving the laughter behind them as the trio took their seats for breakfast.

* * *

The day passed quickly both to the joy and dismay of Harry. Of course he was excited to get to dinner and see who would be chosen for champions but he was also dreading dinner ending and his lesson with Snape beginning.

Dinner passed quickly and once the meal had ended Dumbeldore took his place in the center of the room.

"In a moment the goblet will give us the names of the champions now when the names are called I ask that the champions retreat to the back chamber," he motioned to a door behind the staff table, "There they will receive instructions for the first task."

Harry watched as the goblet began to glow brighter than it was before and the suddenly it spit out a piece of parchment as the whole room gasped in amazement.

Dumbeldore extended his arm and reached out grabbing the paper and inspecting it for a moment before reading out in a loud clear voice, "The champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum."

The great hall erupted into applause as Hermione rolled her eyes and Ron shouted over the noise to Harry, "I knew he would get it!"

Moments later the clapping and chattering died down as the goblet glowed once more and spit out yet another piece of parchment.

"The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour," Dumbeldore announced as the room once more erupted into applause.

Fleur disappeared into the back chamber and once more the room fell silent as the goblet sent another piece of parchment flying into the air.

"The Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory."

Applause thundered in the great hall once more as Harry smiled at his friends. He didn't know Cedric too well of course but he was glad that their champion wouldn't be a Slytherin and from the looks of it so were Ron and Hermione.

The excitement in the room died down eventually as Dumbeldore cleared his throat once more.

"Congratulations to our three champions and I am sure I can count on you all to support them in every way that you can as they face the challenges that this tourn…"

Dumbeldore stopped speaking as the goblet once more began to light up and then shoot a large spark into the air. Seconds later a piece of parchment flew through the air.

Dumbeldore reached into the air and grabbed the parchment his face changing as he read it to himself.

The room sat in complete silence as everyone waited for Dumbeldore to speak.

Slowly he cleared his throat and read out, "Harry Potter."

Immediately all eyes turned to Harry as Remus jumped out of his seat looking livid and McGonagall loudly sucked in her breath.

**TBC...**


	45. Chapter 45

**Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the reviews and emails I really appreciate all the support and kind words. I have to admit I was a writing fool today, thank God for teachers calling out sick and an unexpected study hall :) And I tried to make this chapter a little longer to make up for the past few which haven't been long enough. I'm going to be pretty busy this weekend but hopefully come Monday I'll have the next chapter ready.**

**Enjoy! Miranda**

**Oh and there are more notes from me at the bottom as not to ruin the story so please read them before you review or email me, thanks!**

* * *

Harry's head snapped away from the front of the room and his professors and turned to his two best friends.

"I didn't put my name in," he muttered suddenly aware that every Gryffindor was staring at him.

Some like Oliver Wood looked annoyed. Fred and George looked as though they couldn't have been prouder. Ginny looked scared out of her wits.

"Harry Potter," Dumbeldore called out once more.

But Harry felt rooted to his spot, surely he was dreaming.

"Go," Hermione urged him in a loud whisper.

His feet worked without his knowledge or consent, slowly carrying him to the front of the room. He noticed Malfoy and the other Slytherins muttering amongst themselves as they made horrible faces in his direction. The Hufflepuffs also looked angry as he passed and he couldn't help but feel guilty and ashamed of something he didn't even do.

When he reached the front of the room Dumbeldore shook his hand firmly but Harry could see the confusion and worry etched on his face.

"Head on into the chamber," he spoke softly.

Harry gave no inclination of hearing these words other than the fact that he released the headmaster's hand and kept moving forward.

He noted McGonagall's worried face as he passed as well as Snape's confused one and Remus' furious one.

He wanted to speak. To open his mouth and make them all aware that this was all a big mistake, that he had never entered his name. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare and for a moment he contemplated pinching himself but before he could fully entertain the idea he was pushing open the door to the back chamber.

The moment he was fully through the doorway the door swung closed loudly behind him causing the other champions who were huddled by a large fireplace talking to look up.

The moment their eyes registered the small second year boy standing there confusion swept over them.

Harry slowly opened his mouth to explain but no words came.

"Why are you…" Krum began to speak but was interrupted as the door behind Harry swung open and a parade of professors stormed into the room as Harry quickly noted that Remus was not among them.

"It's utterly ridiculous," Snape thundered.

"To say the least," McGonagall spoke.

"Did you enter your name?" Dumbeldore spoke to Harry his eyes piercing Harry's own.

Once again words would not come and so Harry quickly shook his head.

"Of course he has," Snape spoke, "How else could this have happen?"

"Now Severus…"

"No Minerva the boy is telling a bold face lie even you cannot protect your golden boy this time!"

"If Potter is saying he didn't do it than perhaps…"

But McGonagall was cut off as the door to the chamber swung open once more.

"I'll be taking Harry now," Remus spoke to Dumbeldore from the doorway not bothering to enter the room and it was obvious to Harry by the way the headmaster nodded that they had already discussed this.

In any other situation Harry would have been thrilled at the idea of going with Remus, after all Snape looked as though he wanted to haul him off to the dungeons and cut him up for ingredients any moment but Remus still looked furious and Harry's mind immediately went to the night he and Ron had flown the car and the threat Remus had made.

His feet, continuing to work without his knowledge, led him to Remus' side as Snape continued to rant.

"I'm sure Granger helped him. I'll have to check my stock for missing ingredients. It was Polyjuice potion I'm sure of it!"

Remus started out the doorway that led back through the great hall and a million scenarios swept through Harry's mind in an instant.

"No," he croaked softly.

Remus leaned down until the two were face to face and then spoke in a low voice that sent shivers down Harry's spine.

"You will come with me at once and if you move so much as a foot from my side I will hold your hand the entire way."

And with that he walked through the door while Harry scrambled to keep up, leaving him no time to realize that that little scene had just played out in front of a room full of people.

Luckily dinner had ended and so the great hall wasn't nearly as crowded as it could have been. As they passed the Gryffindor table though Harry noticed Ron and Hermione still sitting there, Hermione forced a smile but beneath that her face was full of concern, Ron however, rolled his eyes and turned his head as Harry passed and Harry couldn't help the feeling of hurt that overcame his body.

Once upstairs and in an empty hallway Harry finally found his voice.

"I didn't put my name in," he declared. They were a mere fifteen feet from the defense classroom and Harry was sure that was where they were headed.

Remus didn't answer but simply continued walking.

"Remus I didn't!" He all but yelled as they paused for a moment while Remus opened the classroom door.

Once inside the classroom Remus headed directly towards his office and stopped only for a moment to open that door as well.

"Remus!" Harry whined loudly.

"Do **not **take that tone with me," Remus warned in a low voice as he picked up a handful of floo powder, "You may think this is all a very funny joke but I assure you that it is not. And I know for a fact that your godfather made you more than well aware not only that this tournament is incredibly dangerous but that you were to keep yourself out of trouble and out of danger."

Before Harry's brain could formulate a response he found himself being pulled into the fireplace and moments later pulled out in his living room.

"Go to your room Harry."

Harry looked at Remus giving him the most annoyed look that he dared to give.

"No! I want to talk to Sirius!"

"Now Harry James!"

"You can't tell me what to do," Harry spat the words out as Sirius entered the living room.

"What in Merlin's name is this all about?"

"I didn't do it," Harry blurted out immediately, "I swear I didn't!"

"Your godson is in need of a trip over you knee at the very least."

"I am not!"

"What is going on?" Sirius asked and Harry could tell by his voice that he was losing his patience.

He opened his mouth to explain but Remus beat him to it.

"Harry put his name in the goblet and was chosen now how he managed to do so is beyond me but…"

"I didn't!" Harry cut him off angrily.

"Go to your room Harry."

It was Sirius who spoke this time and the words cut through Harry like a knife.

"But I didn't…"

"Go Harry."

"But Sirius I...."

"Now please Harry James." Sirius' voice was low and sounded tired.

Harry felt the heat rise in his face as he walked past his godfather and up the stairs. He wanted nothing more than to give into the rather large lump that had formed in his throat and allow the tears to stream down his face but he refused to do that in front of anyone.

When he reached the top of the steps he really did consider listening to what he has been asked to do. He considered going into his room as he had been told to and waiting for his godfather there but his curiosity got the best of him…his curiosity along with his resentment towards Remus and now Sirius.

Sighing quietly as the first tears of many made their way down his face he sat down on the top step slumping against the banister railing. He figured the worst that could happen is that he would be discovered and he was already in trouble wasn't he?

_In trouble for something I didn't even do_, he thought feeling especially sorry for himself, _if I'm in trouble anyway I might as well actually do something._

And so he stayed in his position at the top of the stairs waiting to hear the conversation that would inevitably take place between Remus and his godfather.

"What happened?" Sirius' voice was low, almost a whisper.

"Three champions were already chosen and then Harry's name was as well," Remus paused for a moment, "I know the Weasley twins attempted an aging potion which was unsuccessful however I am not sure how Harry managed to cross the age line and put his name in the goblet unless of course he had an older student do so for him," Remus paused once more and Harry imagined him pacing the way he did when he taught class, "Dumbeldore drew the age line of course and it was supposed to be protected by a few dozen charms intended to keep the underage from entering but clearly it wasn't strong enough."

There was a long moment of silence from below as Harry sat there, his head leaning against the banister, carelessly brushing stray tears from his face with the backs of his hands.

"Harry seems pretty adamant that he didn't put his name in," Sirius replied softly.

"Now Padfoot, you know I love Harry but honestly he has broken the rules many times in the past and he has lied in the past."

Another long moment of silence.

"You're right he has," Sirius replied and Harry felt his stomach hurt in a way he couldn't explain in words.

It was all catching up with him and the one time he really needed Sirius to believe him, he wasn't going too and it was all his own fault.

"Harry has broken rules and he has lied in the past," Sirius continued, "However when I ask him point blank to tell me the truth it's extremely rare that he does not and after the last time I am almost positive he would not lie to me again."

Harry felt himself blush slightly at Sirius' mention of the night he had gone into the chamber but his heart soared at the idea that Sirius might believe him.

"Honestly Sirius we are talking about a child that has flown a car, gone into the chamber of secrets, snuck off to a meeting...you honestly think he wouldn't lie this time?"

Sirius sighed loudly. "I think that he knows better these days, I think that after all of those events you have just mentioned that he understands the value of his life and just how much trouble he would be in with me if he had put his name in the goblet and so I will talk to him about it and see what he has to say before I make my mind up."

"You think his name just appeared in there?" Remus asked in an aggravated voice.

"I'm not sure how his name got in there but I am sure that I'm not just going to accuse him of putting it in there," Sirius said the words in a voice that sounded to Harry like he was upset.

"I'm not trying to accuse him Sirius but in all honesty there is no other explanation."

"What did Dumbeldore say?"

"I didn't speak to him much about it, I simply made him aware that I felt that it was best for Harry to come home not only to see you but to get away from Hogwarts for the time being but as I have said Sirius it's obvious that a piece of parchment didn't just bewitch itself to contain Harry's name and then put itself in the goblet."

Silence filled the living room and crept up the stairs at Harry.

"Thank you for bringing him home," Sirius spoke after what seemed to Harry like an eternity.

"That's all you're going to say?" Remus sounded annoyed.

"I've told you that I am going to speak with Harry and see what he has to say for himself and the situation."

"You feel that he will confess?"

Again another long moment of silence as Harry strained to make sure he heard his godfather's response. His tears were still falling though not nearly as hard as they had been and he had to sniff in the worst way possible but he knew that if he even made the slightest noise he'd be caught and that was the last thing he needed.

"I feel like I need to talk to my godson," Sirius finally replied.

"I feel that you are taking this far too lightly Sirius, your godson is entered in the Triwizard Tournament, I know you are aware of how dangerous it is."

"I'm very aware."

"He entered himself and you're brushing it off as if I brought him here because he merely got a bloody detention!"

"I'm not brushing it off, I am telling you that I am going to speak to Harry and I will. Now I've asked you to leave so I can do just that and I'd appreciate it if you'd follow my request."

Harry listened as Remus muttered a few choice words and then he heard someone get up, clearly Remus, before there was a loud pop signifying that Remus had obviously gone back to Hogwarts. And then there was silence. He listened carefully trying to hear if Sirius was moving, or sighing, or even muttering to himself.

Harry bit his bottom lip as he wiped the tears off his face once more before he began to stand up and head for his room. However, before he could even pull himself up from his sitting position on the step he saw his godfather at the bottom of the stairs.

Sirius was walking up the stairs, his head down and Harry realized he was caught. If he got up to move now Sirius would see him and so his only other option was to stay put and allow himself to be found.

Sirius was halfway up the stairs before he lifted his head and saw Harry sitting at the top. His face red, blotchy, and covered with tears.

"I could have sworn I asked you to go to your bedroom," Sirius said softly as he stopped two steps before Harry and sat down so that he was looking up at his godson.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered, "I didn't go to my room."

"You heard the whole conversation down there?" Sirius asked running a hand through his hair.

Harry nodded once brushing a stray tear out from under his eye.

Sirius sighed softly as he reached over and removed his godson's glasses.

"Why don't we go to your room and talk?" Sirius asked and as a reply Harry nodded once more.

Sirius sighed as he stood up and then in one quick motion he picked up his godson and carried him into his bedroom depositing Harry on his bed.

Under any other circumstances his godfather carrying him would have made Harry blush with embarrassment considering he was way too old for such treatment but with everything that had happened recently Harry didn't fight it at all and though he would never admit it, he actually quite liked it and for the first time in hours, he felt secure...safe.

Sirius deposited Harry onto his bed and watched as his godson crawled up by his pillow and then sat up, tucking his feet up under him so that his chin was resting on his knees.

Sirius laid Harry's glasses on his bedside table before walking across the room and retrieving Harry's desk chair and sitting himself in it.

Harry glanced up at his godfather for a brief moment before he gave into the large lump in his throat and completely dissolved into tears. He put his face into his knees brining his arms up around his knees hugging himself.

"Harry what is it?" Sirius' voice sounded not only concerned but scared as well.

But Harry simply shook his head, crying much too hard to catch his breath long enough to form words.

Sirius quickly abandoned his spot on the desk chair and perched on the edge of his godson's bed.

"Talk to me Pup."

"You're already ready to punish me and I didn't…I didn't…" the boy dissolved into hysterics once more.

"I'm not ready to punish you," Sirius replied in a confused voice, "What would make you think that?"

Harry raised his head and gave his godfather a _look _before turning and looking in the direction of the desk chair.

"Oh," Sirius said softly suddenly understanding, "No Harry you heard what I said to Remus, I want to talk to you that's all."

"I didn't do it," Harry said softly holding his godfather's gaze.

Sirius sighed softly as he eyed up his godson before brushing several tears off the young boys face.

"You promise me you didn't put your name in that goblet or have anyone else do it?"

Harry heard the tone of his godfather's voice and nodded once before he found his voice.

"I swear Sirius," Harry croaked the lump in his throat forming once more, "I didn't do it and I didn't have anyone else do it. I don't know how my name got in there."

Sirius sighed and he looked at Harry as though he was deciding whether he believed the boy or not.

"Okay," he finally replied after several moments of silence, "I believe you Pup."

Harry felt a wave of relief wash over him as he looked up into his godfather's eyes.

"You do?" He asked in a soft voice.

Sirius nodded as he leaned over a wiped a tear off his godson's chin, "Of course I do. I'm going to speak to Dumbeldore about this and see if he has any ideas as to who could have put it in there and of course I'm going to have to speak to him about your competing as that simply will not be happening."

"I thought the rules say I have to now."

"Rubbish," Sirius shook his head, "You're too young and if I have any say it all it won't be happening."

"Ron's mad at me," Harry said softly unable to keep the subject that was weighing on his mind quiet any longer.

"Ron is? You had time to speak with him?"

Harry shook his head. "No," he admitted.

"Then what makes you think he's mad at you?"

"I just know he is," Harry shrugged, "He wouldn't even look at me. And Remus is mad at you."

Sirius sighed as he gave his godson a small smile, "Don't worry about Remus and I, we've been mates a long time and we've had far worse rows than the small one we just had downstairs. In a day or so it'll be as though it never happened."

"He thinks I did it though."

"Listen to me Harry," Sirius said softly, "Remus cares for you a great deal and while I don't agree with his accusing you without talking to you nor his yelling at you without giving you a chance to explain...given your track record I'm sure you can see why he would feel that you may have had something to do with your name being in the goblet."

Harry nodded softly, "Yeah I know."

"Trust me," Sirius forced a big smile, "In a day or so everything will be fine with Remus, you'll see."

"And Ron?"

"I'm sure things will sort out with him as well. However I do think that you should stay away from Hogwarts, let things cool down."

"But Sirius," Harry's face fell, "I don't want to leave Hog..."

"Just for the weekend Pup, I'll take you back on Monday morning but for now I think you should stay here."

"I'm supposed to have a lesson with Snape tonight," Harry replied shocking himself. He hated his lessons with Snape and now here he was making sure his godfather knew what he'd be missing.

"I don't care if you're supposed to have a lesson with Merlin himself, tonight you are staying this weekend and letting me spoil you just a little and on Monday you can go back to Hogwarts, understood?"

Harry nodded as a smile crept across his face, "Yes Sir."

**TBC…**

* * *

**Okay just a few words before I get hate messages/reviews. I absolutely love Remus he is one of my favorite characters in the HP world however I do sometimes get annoyed with how he is portrayed in the fanfiction world. While I do love Remus, the man is not perfect and if I'm not mistaken in canon when he was made aware that he was going to be a father he ran from the situation. I've done a lot of thinking about this and I felt like maybe just once Remus should make a mistake and be wrong in the fanfiction world as far as Harry is concerned and so I went with it. So yeah if you still want to write me hate mail feel free but be aware I'll just kill you with kindness because that's the kind of girl I am. **

**Miranda**


	46. Chapter 46

**Author's Notes: As always thank you all so much for all the reviews/emails/adds…I really do appreciate it so much guys, you have no idea! I lounged on the beach today with nothing but my ipod and a notebook and finished this chapter quicker than I thought I would :) Enjoy this chapter and I'll try to have the next up sometime this week.**

**Miranda**

* * *

It was the middle of the night. The last time he had glanced at the time it had been nearly two in the morning but that had been ages ago.

After he had been sure Harry was sound asleep, he had retreated downstairs and then the pacing began.

A big part of him wanted nothing more than to floo over to Hogwarts and speak to Dumbeldore, though he was sure that the middle of the night wasn't the correct time for doing so. There was another huge part of him that wanted to go give Remus a piece of his mind but he wouldn't do that either.

After all he wasn't really all that angry with Remus but more with the situation at hand and taking his frustrations with the situation out on Remus wouldn't be fair at all nor would it help the current situation.

Remus had been his good mate for years and as a result Sirius knew him almost better than he knew himself and he knew that Remus' anger wasn't entirely about his thinking that Harry was guilty. Remus was scared for Harry, Sirius could see that and he respected that. Of course he was sure that Remus did believe Harry had put his name in the goblet but he understood that as well, after all Remus didn't know his godson the way he did.

Sirius sighed to himself as he collapsed into his armchair contemplating just sleeping there for the night. Shifting into a comfortable position he closed his eyes for all of a moment before a loud blaze caused him to open them once more.

Standing before him, his face a mess with worry stood Remus Lupin.

"I'm sorry I woke you."

"I wasn't sleeping," Sirius yawned, "I was just resting my eyes."

"I didn't think you'd be asleep after a night like tonight," Remus spoke as he sat on the edge of the couch.

There was a long moment of silence before Sirius spoke and when he did so he did with a confident voice.

"Harry didn't do it. I know my godson and he's telling the truth Remus. I could see it in everything tonight from his despondent weeping to the fact that he looked me directly in the eyes when I asked him about it. He didn't do it."

Sirius paused for a moment and Remus opened his mouth to speak but closed it as Sirius continued.

"I understand you're doubting him as I had my doubts at first as well but he's telling the truth, I am sure of it. Harry doesn't act the way he did tonight when he is guilty."

"I'm sorry I doubted him Padfoot," Remus spoke softly, "I wasn't implying that I always think the worst of the child but with everything that has happened in the past…."

"I know Moony and so does Harry."

"He must hate me," Remus practically whispered.

"He was scared and hurt tonight," Sirius answered honestly, "But he could never hate you."

"I was cruel."

Sirius shook his head, "You were concerned."

"That's no excuse to treat him the way I did."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, I've lost my temper with Harry before, no one is perfect Moony."

"Do you think I could come and speak with Harry tomorrow?" Remus asked staring at Sirius as though he expected the answer to be no.

Sirius smiled as he nodded, "I think that's an excellent idea."

* * *

Harry awoke early the next morning and padded down the stairs to find his godfather making breakfast.

"Morning Pup," Sirius smiled as he placed a plate of pancakes at Harry's spot, "Sleep well?"

Harry shrugged as he took his seat, "Everything is a mess Sirius."

He spoke the words in a low voice and Sirius worried the child was on the verge of tears once more.

"Hey," Sirius said softly as he took his spot at the table across from his godson, "I told you last night I'm going to fix it all."

"Can you?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"Well I certainly can't fix the problem with Ron you're going to have to handle that one," he replied honestly, "But I like to think I can handle the rest."

"How?" Harry asked his voice still just as small.

Sirius frowned as he watched his godson push his pancakes around his plate with a fork.

"Well for starters," he spoke in the cheeriest voice he could muster, "Remus stopped back over last night and he's coming to speak to you this morning and while he's here I'm going to go speak with Dumbeldore."

"I don't want to talk to him," Harry replied with a bit too much attitude for his godfather's liking.

"Harry, Remus made a mistake as we all do…surely you can understand that and speak with him, you know better than that."

"Why do you always say that? What if I don't?"

"You do," Sirius chuckled, "You're far too smart of a kid not to."

"I guess," Harry shrugged.

"And while I do understand that you are angry with Remus I also expect you to show him respect. You can be upset and speak your feelings, as you have every right to do so, but I do not want to hear that you were rude or disrespectful…understood?"

"Understood," Harry nodded.

"Good," Sirius chuckled hoping to lighten the mood, "I'd hate to have to wash your mouth out with soap you know."

"You'd do that?" Harry asked in a skeptical voice.

"Probably not," Sirius admitted laughing, "But it sounds good."

Harry rolled his eyes as he laughed in response before taking his first bite of his breakfast.

* * *

Remus stood outside of Harry's bedroom door for several long moments before he raised his hand to knock.

Sirius had headed to Hogwarts moments after Remus had arrived and then Remus had taken several moments to make his way up the stairs.

He knocked once and heard the reply to come in before opening the door to find Harry sitting on his bed looking at a Quidditch magazine.

Harry glanced up at Remus but said nothing.

Remus gave a small smile as he walked into the room and took a seat on Harry's bed.

"I was hoping we could talk for a moment," Remus said in a soft voice.

Harry closed his magazine and set it aside but still said nothing.

"I want to apologize Harry, I am deeply sorry for the way I treated you yesterday. I never should have doubted you nor should I have accused you. I was out of line and I hope you can forgive me."

"Why wouldn't you listen to me?" Harry asked in a small voice. "I was telling the truth and you wouldn't even listen."

"I was a fool," Remus answered honestly, "I was so overcome with worry at the thought of you being in the tournament and then anger at the idea that it was your own doing that I reacted without stopping to think. However, that's no excuse as I should have listened to you but I am sorry Harry and I do hope you can forgive me."

Harry listened to and digested Remus' words before nodding. A small part of him wanted to act mad at Remus but when he thought about it he wasn't really mad anymore and besides he had had to apologize to Remus several times over the past few months and never once had Remus denied him forgivness or made the process of apologizing any harder than it had to be.

"I do…just don't do it again okay?"

"Never…you have my word."

* * *

"What in Merlin's name do you mean I have no say, I am his godfather and guardian!"

Sirius was having a hard time keeping his voice down as he spoke to the headmaster and his mind couldn't help but going to the conversation he had had with Harry only an hour or so earlier…_I suppose I'll have to soap my own mouth out after today_, he thought to himself.

"I understand your concern Sirius as I am concerned also but the rules clearly state that…"

"Blast the rules!" Sirius erupted. "He is only twelve! He can't be expected to do this! I demand the rules be changed!"

"It's not that simple," Dumbeldore stated calmly.

"Make it that bloody simple then! My godson is not participating in a tournament that could kill him because some bloody rules day he has to!"

"There is a contract…"

"To hell with the contract!" Sirius yelled jumping up his temper now fully lose.

"Now Sirius please…"

"No! I have a twelve year old boy at home crushed that this has happened and you're telling me that nothing can be done?"

"I don't have the power to…"

"My arse you don't! I was under the impression that it was everyone's concern to keep my godson safe yet you're telling me that nothing can be done!"

"Harry is an exceptional boy," Dumbeldore spoke, "I am sure that he will be just fine if…"

"He will be fine because he is not competing!" Sirius cut Dumbeldore off once more.

"Sirius please try and understand, my hands are tied."

"But mine are not and Harry will not be made to do this, not as long as I am his gaurdian!"

"Sirius the contract is very..."

"The contract had better be revised or I will be pulling Harry from this school!"

* * *

Sirius stepped through the fireplace to find Harry and Remus spread across the floor playing a game of chess and despite the anger he still very much felt he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. At least his godson's morning had gone well.

"Hey Sirius," Harry smiled up at his godfather.

"No need for soap I see," Sirius chuckled softly.

"Soap?" Remus questioned.

"He threatened to wash my mouth out if I was rude to you," Harry stated matter of factly.

"Padfoot that's dreadful," Remus made a face causing Harry to laugh.

"I was kidding with him and he knows it," Sirius smiled.

"How did it go?" Harry asked as he pulled himself off the floor abandoing the game.

Sirius sighed as he sat in his armchair and waited for Remus to sit on the couch before answering his godson.

"Not too good," Sirius admitted, "but nevermind him you're not doing this and that is that."

"What did he say?" Remus asked.

"That the rules cannot be changed and Harry is bound by contract to compete."

"That's outrageous!"

"Then I have to?" Harry asked.

"No, absolutely not!" Sirius shook his head, "I don't care if I have to pull you out of Hogwarts to stop this you're not competing."

"No! I don't want to leave Hogwarts!"

"Relax Pup, that's a last resort," Sirius replied calmly.

Harry chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before he spoke again. "What if I just do it?"

Remus gave Harry a mortified look as Sirius shook his head firmly.

"There is absolutely no way."

"But if there's a contract or whatever…"

"No Harry."

"Just listen Sirius, whoever put my name in…"

"The answer is no Harry, you heard me."

Harry looked at his godfather's face and didn't see a trace of anger and so he continued.

"I don't **want **to do it Sirius but if I **have** to then I will, I can."

"You can't if I forbid it and I am" Sirius stated in a calm voice, "I'm not going to allow my godson to compete in such a thing and that's the end of it."

Harry sighed softly, "Fine but I'm not leaving Hogwarts."

"I never said you were," Sirius replied as Remus stood up but Harry wasn't so sure he believed his godfather's words.

"I really should be going," he smiled in Harry's direction, "I'll see you on Monday."

* * *

It was after supper. Sirius was sitting in his armchair reading and Harry was lounging on the couch with a Quidditch magazine.

The room had been silent for the past hour and Harry was thinking hard about how to start the conversation he wanted to start.

After Remus had left that morning he and Sirius really had had a brilliant day. They had played a game of chess, flown around the backyard for ages, had a wonderful supper and tea after and Harry certainly didn't want to start a row now and he definitely didn't want to get himself into trouble but his thoughts wouldn't stop going back to the same place and he didn't want to leave Hogwarts. He knew Sirius had said that was a last resort but he was too afraid the last resort would be the only option in a few days time and if this was what he had to do to be sure he wouldn't be made to leave Hogwarts then he would do it.

He stole a glance at his godfather before he closed his magazine and opened his mouth.

"Sirius…can we talk?"

Sirius closed his book as he smiled up at his godson, "Of course we can, what about?"

"The tournament," Harry answered hoping his voice sounded a lot braver and more confident than he was feeling.

"We already talked about that Pup, you know how I feel."

"Why do you think I couldn't do it?"

"You're far too young," Sirius answered honestly, "And it's far too dangerous."

"But I've beat Voldemort twice already, I could do this, I know it."

"It's not a question of your abilities Harry don't try to turn this around on me…you are too young and that is that."

Harry sighed as he picked up his Quidditch magazine once more, "Everyone is going to think I'm a coward."

"You can tell them all that I stopped you, I promise you I don't mind one bit," Sirius replied.

"If you got a chance to do it when you were at Hogwarts you would have."

"Your grandfather wouldn't have let me I promise you," Sirius replied.

"You and Remus could train me…teach me what I would need to know," Harry muttered as he turned a page of his magazine.

"I'm sorry Harry but the answer is no."

"You're supposed to be cool you know," Harry replied not daring to look up from his magazine as he could feel his godfather's eyes on him.

"If you keep it up I'm about to be very un-cool as I'm about to send you to your room."

Harry blushed slightly as he raised his magazine higher to block his face from his godfathers. He knew better than to say anything else but he also knew that tomorrow was a new day and possibly his last chance to convince his godfather and so he would try again then.

**TBC...**


	47. Chapter 47

**Author: Okay well luckily I had this chapter done and saved with the intent to post it later this week because unfortunately I'm currently grounded for the next 2 weeks. My mom is asleep and my dad just ran to the store so I'm using my time to post this real quick and I want to apologize in advance for anyone's review or private message that I haven't answered…luckily my cell phone has the internet and so I will answer you all, just give me time but unfortunately I can't update my story from my phone. So yeah, two weeks till the next update unless they have pity on me or they go out and leave me home alone long enough to update ;)**

**As always thanks for all the support and enjoy this chapter!**

**Miranda**

* * *

It was early afternoon the following day. As soon as they had finished their lunch Sirius suggested they go out back and fly around for a bit. It was an unusually nice day for a Sunday in January and the two were thoroughly enjoying themselves as they raced around the sky on brooms…though Harry's mind was elsewhere.

He had lied awake in bed until quite late the night before trying to come up with a plan to keep himself at Hogwarts. But it wasn't just about staying at Hogwarts, he didn't want people going around thinking he was a coward either and he was sure that everyone would if he didn't compete because his godfather said he couldn't. His curiosity was itching too. He was being truthful when he had originally told his friends that he didn't want to enter the tournament but now that he had been entered against his own will, he couldn't help but wonder what the tournament would involve and how well he would do at it.

The most outrageous idea he had come up with at one in the morning had been to promise Sirius that he wouldn't complete no matter what Dumbeldore said and then just compete anyway. He had entertained this thought for all of maybe thirty seconds before he realized how stupid that plan would be. He wouldn't make it ten seconds through the first task before Sirius found out and most likely walked right into the middle of the task and threw him over his knee.

The only other option he had come up with was to try and talk to his godfather again. He would have to remember to keep his temper of course, though that wasn't nearly as hard to do these days as it had been months ago and he would have to know when to stop but again these days he felt as though he could read his godfather like a book and he definitely knew when Sirius had had enough.

Harry glanced over at his godfather who was flying along side of him and figured that now was probably as good of a time as any.

"Sirius can we talk?" He asked as he stopped flying and just hovered above the ground.

His godfather stopped moving a few feet later and glanced back at him, "If it's about what I think it is about you know my answer."

"Just listen to me okay?" Harry made sure he was speaking in a calm voice and that he wasn't even close to whining.

Sirius sighed as he turned his broom around and flew back over to where his godson was, "Okay, I'll listen."

"If Dumbeldore isn't trying to pull me out of the tournament then maybe it isn't going to be that dangerous," Harry tried to reason quickly before his godfather could cut him off, "And I'm pretty good at defense and you and Remus could help me learn more before the tournament starts."

"For the last time Harry the tournament is very dangerous despite the fact that Dumbeldore would allow you to compete and aside from the regular dangers of the tournament there is the concern that whoever put your name in did it for a reason and I don't believe it was simply to see you compete."

"But..."

"No," Sirius shook his head firmly.

Harry sighed as he lowered himself to the ground.

"You're done flying now?" Sirius asked in a shocked voice.

Harry shrugged, "Yeah I should go work on my essay for Herbology, it's due tomorrow."

Sirius sighed as he lowered himself to the ground and watched his godson retreat into the house, his shoulder slumped. It was obvious that he was upset about not being allowed to compete and Sirius felt bad for having to be the voice of reason...the one to tell him no and enforce the rules but unfortunately if he didn't no one else would.

* * *

Harry had finished his essay for Herbology nearly an hour ago and now he was sprawled out across his bed starring at his ceiling. He didn't plan on going back downstairs until Sirius called him for dinner and when he was finished eating he planned on coming right back up to his room A small part of him realized just how immature he was being but he refused to listen to that small part. As far as he was concerned Sirius was treating him like a child and he wasn't one, after all in a few more months he would be a teenager and then what? Was his godfather still going to make his decisions for him and tell him what he could and couldn't do like he was some baby?

Once more the idea to compete without Sirius' permission crept into Harry's mind. He was almost positive that if it weren't for the fact that Remus would know he's be able to get away with it, at least for long enough to complete the first task and then if he did well maybe Sirius would see that he could handle it and allow him to compete in the other two.

Harry sighed as there was a knock on his bedroom door before Sirius walked into the room.

"You've been up here for awhile...I was starting to wonder if you'd fallen asleep."

Harry didn't answer him, nor did he move from his position on his bed or even look in his godfather's direction.

"I was thinking that maybe tonight after dinner you'd like to go to Diagon Alley for some dessert," Sirius suggested hoping that his godson would not only accept this peace offering but that it would brighten his mood and entice him to leave his room.

Harry shrugged.

"Come on Pup, it'll be fun."

"No thanks," Harry replied as he continued to stare at his ceiling. He knew that he should really just stop pouting and agree to go with his godfather but he couldn't bring himself to do so, despite how much fun Diagon Ally for dessert sounded.

He heard Sirius sigh softly and Harry could picture him running a hand through his long hair.

"I know you're upset with me but lying on your bed and denying yourself a fun time isn't going to help you know."

Harry silently scowled but said nothing.

"Okay suit yourself then, I'll call you when dinner is ready."

There was no mistaking the disappointment in Sirius' voice and that alone should have warned Harry to keep his mouth shut.

"You're being completely unfair you know," Harry commented once Sirius had almost reached the door.

"I'm sorry you feel that way Harry but I don't think it's unfair to want to keep you safe."

"I'm not some baby, I can take care of myself," Harry replied as he swung his legs off the side of his bed and sat up.

"You're not an adult either and until you are it is my job to take care of you and make the rules now I'm sorry you don't agree with this one but..."

"But you don't care?" Harry asked cutting his godfather off. Harry noted that despite the way he was acting his godfather didn't seem mad at all. His voice was soft and calm and if anything, the man seemed tired.

"Of course I do, stop being petulant," Sirius replied, "You're telling me you aren't a child but pouting in your room and giving me an attitude over this isn't acting like an adult."

"Well if you would be fair about this..."

"It's not my job to be fair," Sirius explained, "It's my job to keep you safe."

"And you've said yourself before that Hogwarts is one of the safest places ever!" Harry exclaimed.

"And under normal circumstances it is," Sirius answered and for the first time Harry noticed that his once calm voice was beginning to sound annoyed, "But with the things that have been happening lately..."

"But that's unfair! It's not my fault things have happened but I'm being punished for them!" Harry was trying hard to remember not to yell but honestly his voice was only a decibel under.

"Try and understand Harry I only want to keep you safe, I only want to be sure that..."

"I don't understand," Harry answered in a low defiant voice, "I don't want to either."

"Okay you know what? Have it your way then," Sirius spoke the words and immediately Harry realized he had gone too far.

"You can pout in your room all you want, in fact I'll send your dinner up here that way you can spend the rest of the night pouting."

Sirius wasn't yelling but Harry could hear the disappointment and anger in his godfather's voice and that should have been enough to make him stop but he felt like he had already gone too far to take a step back. He felt completely out of control.

"Fine!"

"Fine then," Sirius replied heading for the door, "You can stay in your room until the morning."

"I heard you the first time!"

Sirius didn't respond this time but took the time to turn and give his godson a _look _as if daring him to speak another word but Harry merely sighed angrily as he fell backwards onto his bed and went back to his original position of starring at the ceiling.

"Why don't you calm your temper and I'll stop in later before you go to bed."

"Bugger off," Harry muttered quietly, "I don't have a bloody temper."

Honestly he hadn't wanted his godfather to hear him. After all he hadn't gone mental and he was smart enough to know to keep his mouth shut after his last remark but when he felt his godfather grip his arm and pull him up off the bed his stomach began to turn.

"Sirius I'm..."

But Harry didn't even have time to form a full sentence before his godfather turned him to the side and brought his hand down hard across his godson's backside.

"Now I have tried very hard to keep my temper as far as all this is concerned but I have had enough Harry James, understood?"

Harry nodded quickly refusing to give into the tears that were burning behind his eyes.

Gently Sirius released his godson.

"I'm sorry that you don't understand why I am so against you competing in this tournament but I've had enough of your attitude about it. Now I expect you to stay in your room and think about what got you here. I'll come up and check on you before supper and if your attitude has improved you can come down and eat with me."

Harry nodded once more, not trusting himself to speak and now he was mad at himself for that. Of course the swat he had just received had hurt but not nearly bad enough to make him want to bawl his eyes out the way that he felt he could at any moment.

Sirius nodded before turning and heading out the door, closing it behind him.

* * *

Harry sat on the edge of his bed willing himself not to give into the tears that were threatning to fall.

_'It was just one stupid bloody smack, don't be such a baby,' _he lectured himself.

But despite his lecturing the tears did begin to fall.

Several moments into his crying he realized the tears weren't just about the smack...it was everything.

Ron being mad at him, his name being entered into the goblet in the first place, the fear of everyone thinking he was a coward, the fear of being made to leave Hogwarts, and worst of all Sirius being mad at him.

Everything was truly a mess.

* * *

Sirius shut Harry's door behind him and walked down the hall to his own room. Gently he closed his door before walking across his room and falling onto his bed. He rested his head back against his pillow, closing his eyes. He felt absolutely horrible.

He knew that he shouldn't have let Harry's attitude or his insistence get to him in such a way but he couldn't help it. It had been quite awhile since Harry had gotten upset with him and he didn't like it at all. A part of him felt he had been too harsh doling out that smack and then sentencing Harry to the next few hours in his room. But then his godson had been asking for hadn't he? He had been more than patient in telling Harry several times over the past two days his reasons for not wanting him to compete and Harry had really been pushing his luck. Still he couldn't help the guilty feeling that lingered in his stomach over smacking his godson. His whole reason for keeping Harry home this weekend had been to cheer the boy up and he had gone and punished him instead and yet a little voice in the back of his mind was insistent that Harry had deserved it.

His thoughts drifted to James and what he would do in such a situation. He didn't have a doubt in his mind that had James been chosen to compete in the Triwizard Tournament he would have wanted to and he most likely would have acted the same way Harry was now had his father said no. But if James and Lily were here would they allow Harry to compete? Sirius was sure Lily wouldn't have. She would have been far too sensible to ever let her son do such a thing and she would have had a way to explain it to Harry that would have made him understand and even agree immediately. But would James have allowed it? Sirius wasn't sure.

**TBC...**


	48. Chapter 48

**Author's Notes: I'm back! Thank you all so much for the reviews, emails, adds, etc. I really do appreciate it! I made a twitter so if anyone is interested in that it's on my profile page. **

**Enjoy this chapter and I'm going to try and have the next one up real soon but I have prom this weekend so we'll see.**

**Miranda**

* * *

Forty five minutes had passed as Harry sat on the edge of his bed debating what he wanted to do.

Sirius had told him very clearly to stay in his room but he really wanted to talk to his godfather. He really wanted to try and explain why he had been such a git. He really wanted to try and apologize. But he really didn't want to make Sirius more cross by leaving his room before he was allowed to.

Finally after an hour and ten minutes had passed, Harry slid off the edge of his bed and slowly made his way towards the door.

He knew there was a chance that he would just anger his godfather more by leaving his room before he was told he could do so but it was a chance he was willing to take.

Harry stepped out of his room and immediately noticed that Sirius' bedroom door was closed, an odd occurrence as the door was always open unless his godfather was in his room.

Slowly he made his way down the hall and then knocked gently on his godfather's door.

"Come on in."

Harry noted that Sirius didn't sound angry at all before he pushed the door open.

Sirius was lying on his bed, an arm draped across his face so that the crook of his elbow was covering his eyes. When he heard the door open he moved his arm and for a brief moment raised his head up off the pillow to look up at his godson before allowing his head to fall back on to his pillow once more.

Harry stood in the doorway, leaning against the door frame waiting. Sirius didn't seem angry anymore but Harry figured he had already made the first move it was up to his godfather now.

"Aren't you supposed to be in your room?"

"Yeah," Harry answered softly.

"And you aren't because?"

"I had to talk to you," he replied forcing his volume to be louder.

Sirius sighed as he patted the bed next to him inviting his godson to join him.

Quickly Harry crossed the room and climbed up on the bed, sitting with his feet tucked under him, next to his godfather who was still lying down his elbow still blocking his eyes.

The two sat in silence for quite awhile and Harry wondered if his godfather had actually dozed off and then he heard Sirius clear his throat.

"You said you had to talk to me?"

His godfather's voice sounded tired.

Harry wanted to explain why he had been acting like he had. He wanted to tell Sirius about how frustrating it felt to first have his name pulled out of the goblet and to now know that everyone was going to think he was a coward and a baby for not competing. He wanted to explain how horrible it would be if he had to leave Hogwarts because of this, not because it would be horrible to be home with Sirius everyday but because Hogwarts was like another home to him and he didn't want to leave it. He wanted to tell his godfather why he had been acting like he had but the words wouldn't come to him and so instead he said what he obviously would need to say eventually anyway.

"I'm sorry."

Sirius sighed softly to himself. He wanted nothing more than to assure his godson that everything was fine now and cheer the boy up but the way Harry's attitude had been throughout the day about this situation could not be excused by a simple apology, Sirius knew that. He needed to be sure his godson understood things because the last thing he wanted was a simple fix followed by another row in a few hours when Harry revisited the subject of the tournament. And so although he didn't want to do it, Sirius forced the words out of his mouth.

"If that's all you have to say about all of this then you can return to your room."

An immediate dreadful feeling filled Sirius' body. Clearly tough love did not suit him at all.

His words were followed by silence for a few moments and then Harry spoke.

"It's not all I have to say."

"I'm listening," Sirius replied the dreadful feeling still burning strong.

Several moments of silence passed and then Sirius heard his godson sigh softly. He removed his arm from across his face and turned to look at Harry.

"I just don't know what to say," Harry whispered.

"You could start with explaining how and why you went from wanting nothing to do with this tournament to being completely adamant that you want to compete. I understand your concern with people calling you a coward but I don't believe that's your only concern here."

"I don't want to leave Hogwarts."

"I told you that is an absolute last resort," Sirius explained, "You honestly think I would make you do that if I didn't have to?"

"No," Harry answered honestly, "I just think that the last resort might have to happen and I don't want to leave there."

Sirius sighed to himself as he used his elbows to push his body into a sitting position.

"I know you don't want to leave. I know you love it there, I loved it there too when I was your age and I promise you I will do everything in my power to keep you there. I would tell you not to worry about such things but I know you and I know you won't listen…and I suppose I understand you're worry but I don't see that as any excuse for the attitude you've had."

"But you're acting like Hogwarts isn't safe anymore. You said that with everything that's happened you're not sure but it is isn't it? Dumbeldore makes sure it is."

Sirius would have liked to tell his godson that although Dumbeldore was an amazing man his actions towards this tournament were nothing short of stupidity but he thought better of it.

"You are right, Dumbeldore does make sure that Hogwarts is safe and I'm sure it is but as far as this tournament is concerned he can't prevent you from competing it's out of his hands."

"So then the only way to stop it is to make me leave Hogwarts?"

"I'm not sure," Sirius answered honestly.

Harry's shoulders slumped. "But you just said you wouldn't make me do that unless…"

"And I won't," Sirius cut him off, "I'm going to go talk to Dumbeldore again and find out who I have to talk to in order to stop all of this."

"So then if it can't be stopped you'll make me leave?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"But Sirius…." Harry's voice carried a hint of a whine.

"No Harry we are not getting into this again," his godfather immediately cut him off, "I understand your concern, I really do but you need to stop and understand my position. You are the single most important person in my life and I can't even for a moment entertain the idea of letting you compete in a tournament that could hurt you or bloody kill you. I won't do it Harry."

Harry nodded softly.

"Do you have any idea what it would do to me if something happened to you? And do you have any idea what it would do to me if something happened to you because I let you put yourself in a dangerous situation?"

Harry looked up at his godfather nodding softly once more, "Yeah I do."

"I just I can't Harry…I won't."

Sirius' words lingered in the air as the two sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity to Harry.

He knew his godfather and he knew what was coming next in this conversation, he'd be mental to think it wouldn't be brought up and finally Harry could take no more of the waiting game and brought it up himself.

"Do I have to go back to my room now?"

Harry's eyes were fixed on his godfather's bedspread as he heard Sirius sigh.

"You have quite the attitude when you want to you know?"

Harry nodded once, "I know."

"I don't want you to think that I don't understand your frustration towards this entire situation Harry because I do but I am on your side here and I don't feel I deserve your attitude regardless of how you feel."

Harry nodded once more.

"Does that nod mean that the attitude will be gone now?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure or do we need to make sure?"

"No," Harry quickly shook his head, "I'm sure it's gone…and I really am sorry."

"Alright then we won't speak of it again but it had better be gone Harry because the next time you speak to me like that…."

"It is…I promise."

* * *

It was early the following morning when Harry walked into the great hall. Sirius had just left him to go talk to Dumbeldore once more and his godfather had promised to let him know what the outcome had been as soon as he was done.

As he walked towards the Gryffindor table he realized that all eyes were on him and they were not kind eyes either. Clearly all of Hogwarts believed he had put his name into the goblet.

Quickly he slid into his normal seat across from Ron and Hermione and as he did so Ron immediately stood and walked away.

"He thinks I did it," Harry stated as Hermione nodded in response.

"Do you think that to?" He asked with a bit more anger in his voice than he had intended.

Hermione quickly shook her head. "No, of course not! I know there is no way you got past Dumbeldore's age line and the teachers know it too. McGonagall said herself that you couldn't have and that even if you asked an older student to put your name in it wouldn't have worked."

"Does Ron know she said that?"

"Of course he does but he doesn't believe it I guess."

Harry sighed as he stood once more.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked.

"To talk to him."

Harry rushed out of the great hall and walked almost directly into Cedric.

"Harry!" Cedric smiled, "I suppose we are playing against each other in this tournament."

"I guess," Harry replied unsure of whether he should mention the fact that he wasn't going to compete.

"So tell me," Cedric smiled as he lowered his voice, "How did you get your name in?"

"I didn't," Harry replied firmly, "I didn't put my name in. I was telling the truth."

"Okay," Cedric winked and it was obvious he clearly didn't believe the boy, "I'm heading into breakfast, have you eaten?"

"Er yeah," Harry replied as he began to head for the staircase.

"See you then Harry!"

Harry ran up the staircase to find Fred and George coming out of the Fat Lady portrait just as he was about to go in.

"You should have told us you entered," Fred smiled proudly.

"How did you go it?" George added.

"And without getting caught," Fred smiled, "You're bloody brilliant!"

"I didn't," Harry replied, "I don't know how…"

But Harry was cut off as the portrait opened once more and Ron stepped out. Clearly he didn't expect to see Harry there because the moment he did he turned and went back through to the Gryffindor common room.

But Harry was right behind him, leaving the twins alone in the hall.

"Ron I…."

"Congratulations," Ron smiled.

Harry immediately noticed that his friend's smile was a very strange one.

"What do you mean congratulations?"

"Well no one else got across the age line, not even the twins…what did you do, use the invisibility cloak?"

"That wouldn't even work," Harry replied.

"Sure," Ron said, "I thought you might have told me if you used the cloak because it would have covered both of us you know."

"I didn't put my name in the goblet Ron."

"Right…who else would have?"

"I don't know but someone else did!" Harry found the volume of his voice rising.

"What would they do that for?"

"I don't know but Sirius isn't even going to let me compete so it doesn't matter."

"Sure he won't," Ron laughed a fake laugh and Harry could feel his face grow warm, "Sirius will probably help you train. It's okay you know you can tell _me _the truth, I'd never rat you out. If you don't want everyone else to know that's fine but I'm supposed to be your best mate. Besides you got away with it…you didn't get in trouble did you? Everyone already knows that Dumbeldore is going to let you enter. A thousand galleons prize money and you don't have to take the end of the year tests either…."

"I didn't put my name in the goblet!" Harry yelled.

"Yeah sure I'm not stupid you know."

"You're doing a bloody brilliant impression of it," Harry snapped.

"Yeah?" Ron snapped back. "You better hurry up and get to class I'm sure they'll be pulling you out for a photo call or something."

And with that he turned and walked away leaving Harry standing there all alone.

**TBC...**


	49. Chapter 49

**Author's Notes: Thank you all so much for all the reviews, emails, adds, etc. Ya'll are the best! Enjoy this chapter. I have a really busy weekend but I'll try and have the next one up early next week.**

**Miranda**

* * *

Harry walked into Transfiguration and sat in his regular seat next to Ron and as he did his red headed best friend made it a point to scoot his chair further away staring intently at his text book.

Professor McGonagall had just begun speaking when a scroll appeared in the air before her.

She read it quickly and then muttered to herself about her class being disrupted before she smiled kindly in Harry's direction, "You're wanted downstairs in the great hall by Professor Dumbeldore Potter."

Harry returned her smile before quickly gathering his things and walking out of the classroom.

As he descended down the staircase all his thoughts were on what he was wanted for and he hoped with all his might that Dumbeldore was going to tell him that Sirius had spoke to someone and he didn't have to compete and that his life would finally be able to get back to normal but as he walked into the great hall to see the three other champions and half a room full of people his stomach fell.

"Ah Harry my boy," Dumbeldore smiled the moment he saw him, "I'm so sorry to interrupt your schedule we won't keep you long. The wand weighing is about to begin and then it'll just be a quick photo shoot and a few moments of conversation for the Daily Prophet."

"Wand weighing?" Harry asked nervously. The rest of what Dumbeldore had said had hardly registered with him. All his thoughts had immediately gone to his godfather and whether or not he was even supposed to be taking part in any of this.

"We just have to be sure that all four champions' wands are fully functional as they are your most important tools in this tournament."

Harry glanced around the room quickly to see Viktor Krum off in a corner by himself and Cedric and Fleur having a conversation, no one seemed to be paying any attention to him.

"Did you talk to Sirius?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"I did, not even an hour ago."

"And he knows about this?"

"Sirius is well aware of what the tournament entails I am sure and he knows that you are competing."

Harry chewed on his lower lip for a moment. He wanted to ask Dumbeldore what had happened with the conversation with Sirius earlier that morning. He wanted to ask if he could speak to his godfather before he did any of the things he was about to do. But his thought process was cut off as an elaborate looking woman approached them.

"I was wondering if I could have a word with Harry before we start?" She asked Dumbeldore. "After all he is the youngest champion my readers are simply dying to know all about him."

"If Harry has no objection…"

"Um I…"

"Lovely," the woman smiled as she gently gripped Harry's upper arm and led him into the back chamber.

"I'm sure you know who I am dear, Rita Skeeter, I write for the Daily Prophet."

"I…"

"And of course I know who you are, everyone does," she smiled widely as the two sat down.

"You don't mind if I use a Quick-Quotes Quill do you?"

"A what?" Harry asked.

His mind was going in a million different directions now. Had Sirius really told Dumbeldore that he could compete? Harry doubted that.

Rite Skeeter's smile widened as she opened her purse and took out a long roll of parchment and a long quill. She placed the tip of the quill in her mouth for a moment and then took it out and placed it upright on the parchment where it stood upright, waiting to write.

"Now Harry," she smiled brightly, "Why did you decide to enter the tournament?"

"I didn't, I don't know how my name…"

"Come now, there is no need to be scared of getting into trouble. We all know you shouldn't have entered but my readers love a rebel."

"But I didn't enter," Harry repeated, "I don't know how my name got in there."

Rita raised an eyebrow that clearly showed she did not believe him but continued on anyway, "How do you feel about the tasks ahead? Are you nervous? Excited?"

"Um nervous I guess," Harry muttered.

"Of course you've already had quite the school year and you've already looked death in the eye several times in the past haven't you? And how would you say that has affected you? Do you feel the need to prove yourself?"

"Umm I…."

"Do you think that the trauma of what happened to your parents affected your decision to enter the tournament at such a young age?"

"I didn't enter the tournament!" Harry replied beginning to feel irritated.

"Do you remember your parents at all?"

"No." He answered honestly.

"And you currently reside with your godfather Sirius Black…did he encourage you to enter? Is he going to help you to train for the tasks? Is he proud to be the godfather of the youngest champion?"

"He umm."

For a brief moment Harry contemplated telling this lady exactly what his godfather thought of his being entered in the tournament but then the quill, which was writing at a rapid speed, caught his eye.

_Sirius Black, Harry's godfather and guardian, did not discourage the young boy from entering and plans on supporting him throughout each task._

"I did NOT say that!" Harry said loudly.

The moment the words left his mouth the door to the chamber opened and there stood Dumbeldore.

"I'm afraid I have to steal him away, Mr. Ollivander is ready to do the weighing now."

Harry looked back to where the parchment and quill had just been, only to find that it had vanished.

"Of course, we were just finishing up here anyway," Rita smiled as she picked up her purse and then stood up.

Harry followed suit and walked over to where Dumbeldore stood, lowering his voice before he spoke.

"I really need to talk to Sirius."

"I'm sorry Harry but there is no time for that at this moment," Dumbeldore smiled, "Afterwards though I am sure Professor Lupin would allow you to use his floo."

Harry sighed before he nodded once and then followed Dumbeldore into the great hall.

* * *

The wand weighing took until lunchtime and once lunch was finished Harry figured that if he ran to Remus' office, flooed home for all of ten minutes to explain what was happening, ran back to his dorm to collect his books, and then ran to Herbology he would make it but the moment lunch finished Dumbeldore approached him to tell him that they would be taking a few quick pictures of the champions.

A few quick pictures took hours and by the time they were done supper was about to begin.

Sighing to himself he walked towards the Gryffindor table to find Hermione sitting alone.

"Hey," he forced a small smile.

"Want to go for a walk?"

"Yes," he answered without a moment's hesitation.

The two walked out of the great hall and then out of the main doors of the school and onto the grounds.

As they walked Hermione filled Harry in on exactly what had happened after his name had been pulled from the goblet.

"I've never heard the great hall so noisy, I honestly haven't," she sighed as they approached the lake.

"Have you talked to Ron today?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded quietly as the two took a seat under a tree, staring out at the water.

"He still thinks I did it?"

"I don't think he thinks you put your name in," Hermione answered.

"How can you say that? He's being a complete git to me!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Hermione asked in an exasperated voice, "He's jealous."

"Jealous? Jealous of what? He wanted to be in a tournament that could bloody kill him?"

"No it's just," Hermione paused choosing her words carefully, "It's always you that gets all the attention and I know it's not your fault, I know you don't want it but he has all those brothers to compete with for attention and you're his best mate and well I think that this was just too much for him on top of everything else."

"Well you can tell him I said I'll swap and he can have my stupid scar and the history and everything that goes with it anytime he wants."

"I'm not telling him anything, you two need to talk and sort things out," Hermione replied.

"I tried to talk to him and he wouldn't listen, I'm not going to run around after him forcing him to listen to me. Maybe he'll believe I don't want this when Sirius pulls me out of Hogwarts."

"That's not funny," Hermione said in a low voice.

"It's not a joke. He doesn't want me to compete and if Dumbeldore or whoever doesn't stop it he's going to pull me out."

"You can't leave Hogwarts!"

"I don't want to but unless they pull me out of the tournament or I convince Sirius to let me do it it's going to happen."

"You can't go," Hermione repeated.

"I don't see where I'll have a bloody choice and after today…there's going to be an article in the paper and pictures and everything he's going to flip his lid when I go tell him tonight."

"So don't tell him."

Harry's head snapped in Hermione's direction as he gawked at his friend.

"What?" She asked. "He'll find out in a few days anyway when he reads the paper so why make him all upset before that. At least it'll buy you a few extra days."

Harry thought this over for a moment, it was true…Sirius would find out eventually but did he really need to tell him tonight? The last thing he wanted was for his godfather to get angry about the whole situation and make him leave Hogwarts before he had to.

"You might be on to something there," Harry smiled, "But I still have to figure out a way to make him let me compete."

"We'll think of something," Hermione smiled, "You aren't leaving, not if I can stop it."

* * *

By the time Harry and Hermione headed back towards the castle supper had ended and Harry wanted nothing more than to go to sleep and put this whole horrible day behind him but the moment they set foot into the great hall Harry immediately spotted Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle standing at the foot of the stairs.

The first thing Harry noticed was large badges on the front of their robes.

**Support Cedric Diggory- The Real Hogwarts Champion**

"Like them Potter?" Malfoy asked as Harry and Hermione approached the stairs, "They have another message as well."

He pressed the badge into his chest and the message quickly disappeared as another glowed brightly.

**POTTER STINKS**

The three of them began to laugh and Harry felt the heat rising in his face.

"Oh your wit astounds me," Hermione said as she rolled her eyes.

"Want one Granger? We've made enough for the whole school."

Hermione ignored Malfoys question and turned to Harry, "Come on, let's go."

"Follow your little Mudblood friend," Malfoy smirked.

The anger Harry had been feeling reached its point and before he even realized what he was doing he reached for his wand.

"Harry!" Hermione said in a tone that should have stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Go on then Potter," Malfoy smirked as he pulled out his own wand, "Do it if you've got the guts."

Before Harry knew what he was doing he yelled the first spell that came to his mind but Malfoy yelled one out at the same instant. Both wands gave off jets of light which hit each other and then bounced out hitting Crabbe and Hermione.

All over Crabbe's face boils began to spring up and Hermione was whimpering as she covered her mouth with both hands.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled as he rushed to her side.

Slowly Hermione moved her hands to show that her two front teeth were growing at an alarming rate, they were already practically three times there normal size.

"What in Merlin's name is all the noise about?"

Harry turned quickly to see Professor McGonagall approaching the group.

"Potter attacked me!"

"We attacked each other at the same time," Harry said loudly.

McGonagall surveyed the situation for all of five seconds before she spoke once more.

"Ms. Granger and Mr. Crabbe the two of you will report to the hospital wing at once."

She waited until Hermione and Crabbe were out of sight before she spoke once more.

"Goyle I will be taking ten house points from Slytherin for not reporting this to a teacher."

Goyle opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off before he could.

"Might I suggest you head to your dormitory immediately before I make it twenty?"

Quickly Goyle turned and practically ran towards the dungeons.

"And as for the two of you," McGonagall now turned to face Harry and Malfoy, "I know you are both well aware that attacking each other is against several school rules and as a result of you breaking those rules you must face the consequences."

She paused for a moment and Harry sucked in his breath waiting for her to continue.

"Mr. Malfoy you will report to Professor Snape immediately and you will tell him exactly what has just happened and explain to him that you have just lost fifty points for Slytherin and that you will be serving detention with me tomorrow evening."

"But Professor…"

"I can easily make it one hundred points," McGonagall spoke.

"No Ma'm," Malfoy shook his head before turning and heading towards the dungeons.

"You will follow me Potter."

Harry sighed as he turned and followed her up the stairs. His first thought was that she was going to floo him home to Sirius and he was dreading it so when she led him to her office and simply sat behind her desk, motioning him to sit as well he couldn't help the small amount of joy he felt.

"I am greatly disappointed in you for fighting with Mr. Malfoy and I will be sending word to your godfather of exactly what just took place in the entrance hall."

Harry's shoulders slumped fighting was not going to look good on top of everything else that had been going on these days.

"I will be taking fifty points from Gryffindor, though it pains me to do so, and though I won't be having you serve detention I can promise you that if this happens again you will be serving detention every night for a month. Am I understood Potter?"

"Yes Professor," Harry replied.

"Now I suggest you head to your dormitory and keep yourself out of trouble."

Harry nodded as he stood and headed for the door.

"Oh and Potter…good luck with the tournament."

**TBC...**


	50. Chapter 50

**Author's Note: As always thank you all so much for all the reviews, emails, and adds. I really believe that I have the best readers:) **

**This chapter was a really hard one to write and I'm anxious to see what ya'll think of it. I'll try and have another one up this week. Enjoy!**

**Miranda**

* * *

Harry awoke the next morning with a small glimpse of hope that perhaps everyone would have gotten over his name being pulled out of the goblet but by the time he walked into potions he realized that he couldn't have been more wrong.

Almost the entire school was wearing the badges Malfoy had been wearing the night before and pretty much everyone was giving him the cold shoulder as well.

Harry could understand the Hufflepuffs attitude, though that didn't make him like it, but he realized that Cedric was one of them and so of course all their support went to him. He had expected the Slytherins to hate him; they mostly did under normal circumstances and so this only added to it. He had hoped the Ravenclaws wouldn't treat him any differently but it seemed as though most of them believed he had entered the tournament. Most of the Gryffindors were still being friendly with him but there were the few, such as Ron, who just completely ignored him.

"Look it's the champion," Malfoy smirked as Harry took his seat in the dungeon class room, "Anyone got an autograph book? Better get his signature now because I doubt he's going to be around much longer I bet he doesn't last ten minutes into the first task."

The Slytherins laughed at Malfoys words.

"He'll make it farther than you would," Neville replied shocking Harry and from the look on his face, shocking himself as well.

"Please," Malfoy smirked, "No one will be able to help him this time, he'll be all on his own. I bet he chickens out and doesn't even compete."

"That's enough Mr. Malfoy," Snape suddenly appeared in the back of the room, "As interesting as this conversation may be getting I must end it here."

Harry stole a side glance at Ron who was staring straight ahead, as Snape walked to the front of the room.

"On page eighty eight you will find the directions for an exceedingly difficult potion, you will work in groups of two and do so quietly."

Harry immediately turned around to face Hermione who was already reading the directions for the potion intently. Not even five minutes later she had the ingredients spread out before them and she was adding things to the cauldron that sat between them.

Once more Harry stole a glance at Ron who was working with Neville across the room.

"You should just talk to him," Hermione noted not looking up from her book.

"I'm not going to apologize to him for something I haven't even done."

"One of you has to be the bigger person or you'll never make up."

"Then he can be," Harry replied as he peered into the cauldron.

"Here," Hermione handed him a small bottle, "Add a few drops at a time and stir it for a few moments after each time you add more."

Harry nodded as he took the bottle from her and poured a small amount into the cauldron, "So any ideas yet?"

"Not really," Hermione admitted, "Perhaps if you just try talking to him about it?"

Harry shook his head, "I tired that all this past weekend when I was home, he won't listen."

"You can't make him listen?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head and left it at that. There was no way he was explaining to his girl best friend just why he couldn't talk to his godfather and press the issue more…there was just no way.

"Maybe if Dumbeldore or another teacher spoke to him about you staying at Hogwarts," Hermione pondered.

"He did talk to Dumbeldore and he said Dumbeldore can't do anything about this," Harry answered as he stirred their potion.

Hermione sighed as she pushed a hair behind her ear, "What about Professor Lupin? Maybe if you talked to him…"

"Remus?" Harry asked in an amused voice, "Remus always sides with Sirius he's as against this as Sirius is."

"What about Hagrid?"

Harry shrugged, "I haven't even talked to him about any of this, he might think I put my name in and he might be cross at me for that."

"Hagrid could never be cross at you and you know it," Hermione replied.

"Maybe," Harry smiled, "But that still doesn't mean he'll want me to compete or that he'll talk to Sirius for me."

"True but you won't know until you try," Hermione returned the smile; "We could go visit him after this class. We have a half hour before lunch."

"Okay," Harry agreed, "But if he thinks I did it or if he's cross at all we're not staying."

"Deal."

* * *

Potions ended with Snape asking Harry to stay after class for a moment.

"I'll wait for you in the hall," Hermione smiled.

Once the classroom was empty Snape spoke.

"We will meet tonight for a lesson as they have become exceedingly more important I expect you to give 110% tonight, understood Potter?"

Harry nodded miserably. He had almost hoped that with everything going on Snape would have forgotten about the lessons but of course that wasn't the case.

"Directly after supper then, do not be late."

"Yes Sir," Harry replied.

* * *

Harry and Hermione each took a seat in Hagrid's small hut. So far Hagrid hadn't really spoken and Harry was just waiting for him to express his displeasure at any moment and so when Hagrid spoke the words took him by surprise.

"Any ideas on who put your name in then?"

"You believe me?" Harry asked in a shocked voice as Hermione smiled a satisfied smile.

"Course I do," Hagrid nodded, "You said you didn't do it and you wouldn't lie. So any ideas?"

Harry shook his head, "Just the obvious but I don't know how he'd get into Hogwarts that would be next to impossible."

Hagrid nodded, "So you're gonna compete?"

Harry shook his head, "Sirius won't let me."

"They let him pull you out?" Hagrid asked in a surprised voice.

Hermione shook her head, "Not exactly."

"Sirius is going to pull me out of Hogwarts if they try and make me compete," Harry explained.

"That's terrible!"

Harry nodded sadly.

"Of course the competition is dangerous but you could do it," Hagrid continued, "Course you'd need some help but everyone gets help, not supposed to, but of course they do."

"We were thinking maybe you could help us keep Harry at Hogwarts," Hermione said softly.

"Course I will," Hagrid smiled, "Whatever I can do!"

"Well we were thinking maybe if you talk to Sirius for me," Harry said quickly, "Like maybe send him an owl or pay him a visit and you know just tell him that you think I could do it and that you don't want to see me leave Hogwarts."

"I don't know," Hagrid replied slowly.

"Please Hagrid," Harry begged, "He might listen to you and if he does then I won't have to leave."

Hagrid sighed softly before he nodded, "Alright Harry I'll do it."

"And you have to do it soon," Hermione added, "The first task is only a few days away."

* * *

The rest of the day passed far too quickly for Harry's liking and before he knew it he was walking into Snape's office preparing for what he was sure would be a horrible evening.

"Considering the recent events I feel it is now more important than ever for you to master occlumency and prevent the Dark Lord from reading your thoughts as it is painfully obvious he has had a hand in recent events."

Harry raised an eyebrow at his least favorite professor.

"You believe me then?"

"It matters very little what I believe Potter nevertheless if you are asking whether I believe a child who just barely scrapes by in potions class was capable of crossing an age line undetected the answer is no I do not believe that nor should anyone with half a brain."

Leave it to Snape to make Harry feel both comfort in the fact that someone else believed him, someone who normally didn't believe anything he said, and annoyance in the fact that he had not only just insulted him but called him a child as well.

"So you think Voldemort did it then?"

"Do not speak his name," Snape hissed, "And I did not say that I merely said that I believe he had a hand in it. However I think it is utterly ridiculous that anyone should allow you to compete, not that anyone cares to hear my opinion on the matter. Now enough of this pointless conversation you will clear your mind of all thoughts and prepare yourself, let's see just how much you remember."

Harry felt a feeling of dread take over his body as he tried to remember to clear him mind and recall exactly what had been taught in the lesson he had had with Dumbeldore all those weeks ago.

Seconds later the room slipped away.

He was sitting in the great hall as Dumbeldore pulled his name from the goblet, he was arguing with Sirius in his room and then Sirius was approaching him.

NO, Harry's brain screamed but he didn't return to Snape's office quickly enough.

"Perhaps your godfather has a better hold on you than I thought," Snape commented as Harry fought hard to remain on his feet.

"That was private!" He practically yelled his cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Not from me Potter and not from the Dark Lord, every thought, every memory you posses can and will be used against you and if you think for one moment he won't use that against you the moment he gets the chance you are sorely mistaken. Now clear your mind once more and concentrate Potter."

Harry wanted nothing more than to turn and leave Snape's office but knowing he couldn't he opted for making a face before he tried to clear his mind once more.

_Treat every memory as one you don't want him to see._

That's what Dumbeldore had said.

Once again the office vanished and Harry saw himself fighting with Ron for a split second before he forced Snape out of his head.

"Better,' Snape said the word curtly.

"Err thanks Sir."

"I suppose that will be enough for one night Potter, you may return to your dormitory and we will commence again after the first task," Snape paused for a moment and then said the words that nearly made Harry fall over, "Good luck Potter."

* * *

It was late when Harry walked into the Gryffindor common room and as a result the room was practically empty aside from Ginny Weasley who was curled up on the large couch reading.

"You're up late," Harry commented and Ginny simply nodded in response.

"Let me guess?" Harry asked with a bit of anger in his voice, "You think I did it too?"

"No I don't think that," Ginny replied closing her book, "And I think Ron is being a right git to you."

"You do?" But he's your brother."

"That doesn't mean I agree with everything he does…and Fred and George think he is being horrible as well, Fred even threatened to write mum about it if he doesn't knock it off."

Harry couldn't help the smirk that spread across his face at this news, "What are you doing up?"

Ginny shrugged, "Just couldn't sleep."

"You aren't still having nightmares are you?" Harry asked in a concerned voice as he took a seat next to her.

Ginny shook her head smiling softly, "No those stopped a few weeks back. I'm worried about you though."

"About the tournament?"

"Yes that and Hermione told me about Sirius…I hope you don't mind that she did, she was asking me if I had any ideas."

"Do you?" Harry asked in a curious voice.

"Yes…don't do this."

"Don't do what?"

"Don't do the tournament if Sirius can't get you pulled out of it then listen to him and leave Hogwarts, it'll probably only be for a bit and…"

"You want me to leave?"

"Well no I don't want you to but I don't want you to compete either…people have died in this tournament Harry!"

"I know," Harry nodded.

"And it's not that I don't think you could do it I just don't want to see you have to," she said softly.

* * *

Harry had tossed in bed for quite awhile and when he finally fell asleep his dreams were invaded by the tournament and everything else that had been going on at school.

He awoke the next morning still exhausted and feeling cranky. Ron was already gone and Harry took his time dressing for the day. When he finally walked into the great hall the Gryffindor table was half empty as breakfast was already almost over.

Harry spotted Hermione sitting off by herself reading the paper and his stomach filled with dread as he thought about the article that he knew was in there.

"How bad is it?" Harry asked as he sat down across from Hermione.

She didn't answer but her face couldn't hide her thoughts…it was bad.

"Go ahead," Harry sighed, "I can handle it."

Hermione bit her lip for a moment before she cleared her throat and began to read.

"I suppose I get my strength from my parents. I know they would be extremely proud of me if they could see me now and I know nothing will hurt me during the tournament because they're watching over me. The rest of my strength comes from my godfather, Sirius Black, who is over the moon with joy about my competing. He is going to help me train and with his help I'm sure I'll do very well in the tournament."

"I never said any of that!"

"I know," Hermione assured him before she continued.

"A close friend of Potter's reveals that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of Hermione Granger, a pretty Muggle-born girl who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school."

"I never said that," Harry repeated angrily.

"Relax," Hermione replied, "I know you didn't. Rite Skeeter is such a vile woman I doubt anyone believes anything she writes anyway."

Harry opened his mouth to reply but was cut off as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning his head he smiled when he saw Remus standing behind him but the smile quickly vanished as Remus spoke.

"Good morning Hermione," Remus smiled before he spoke to Harry, "I hate to interrupt your breakfast but Sirius asked me to have you come to my office so he may speak with you."

Harry quickly nodded as he jumped out of his seat and followed Remus through the great hall. Once they were in the corridor Remus cleared his throat softly.

"I read your interview this morning."

"I didn't say any of that stuff she wrote, I hardly talked to her at all," Harry quickly explained.

"I figured you hadn't," Remus smiled softly but his smile faded quickly, "I'm not sure I should say anything but I feel I should warn you that Sirius is not too happy with you at the moment."

"He thinks I said that stuff?" Harry asked in a shocked voice.

Remus shook his head, "Not at all…I'll let him talk and explain things to you, I just wanted to give you fair warning."

Remus gave him a small smile as they approached the defense classroom, "Off you go then…I have some things to tend to before my first class of the day."

Harry nodded as he opened the door to the classroom.

"And Harry," Remus smiled kindly, "Remember that your godfather loves you…more than you know I suspect."

"I know," Harry nodded before walking into the classroom and then heading into Remus' office.

If Remus hadn't had warned Harry it would have taken him all of a second to see that his godfather was in fact mad, it was in everything from his pacing of the room to his tightened forehead.

Harry was in the room for a few moments before Sirius even noticed him and when his godfather did see him he simply pointed to a chair.

Harry quickly sat down and moments after he did Sirius threw the Daily Prophet onto the table in front of him.

"Care to explain this?"

"I didn't say any of those things," Harry quickly explained, "I barely spoke two words to her, she made it all up!"

"Forget what the article says how about the simple fact that you took place in events concerning the tournament in the first place!" Sirius wasn't yelling but his voice was slightly above its normal calm volume.

"What was I supposed to do? I asked Dumbeldore and he said you knew I was doing it!"

"I knew I should have kept you home! I knew it was a mistake to trust you wouldn't have to do anything involving the tournament until the first task!"

Harry shook his head quickly, "Sirius no! It wasn't a mistake."

"It most certainly was!" Sirius replied, "And what in Merlin's name where you thinking having Hagrid come and speak to me last night? You are very aware of my feelings on this whole charade Harry James and if you thought for even a moment that Hagrid would change my mind you are surely mistaken!"

Sirius was yelling now and Harry could clearly see where this was headed.

"I just thought that maybe if you heard it from someone besides me…"

"You thought wrong young man! Now I want you to go and pack your things as you are coming home!"

"No!" Harry shrieked.

"Harry I am warning you, you do not want to push your luck with this as you are already skating on incredibly thin ice as it is."

Harry glared up at his godfather. He kept his mouth shut but he didn't move an inch in the direction to go pack either.

"Harry James this is your last chance now go and pack your things."

"I don't want to leave Hogwarts!" Harry argued, "You promised that would be the last resort."

"What you want is not the question here, what you need is and as your guardian it is my job to decide what you need and I am deciding that you need to leave Hogwarts until this whole things blows over and it is the last resort, now go to your dormitory and pack your things, I am not going to ask you again"

All the thoughts of not wanting to make his godfather cross over this were lost to Harry. The words Remus had spoken only seconds prior escaped Harry's mind. It was happening Sirius was going to make him leave Hogwarts, his friends, everything and there was nothing he could do about it. He'd never felt so trapped in his life.

Harry slowly stood and stared at his godfather and then before he could stop the words from coming out of his mouth, they did.

"Maybe you shouldn't be my guardian then."

Harry didn't miss the hurt that flashed through Sirius' eyes and upon seeing it he quickly opened his mouth to take back his words but Sirius beat him to it.

"Fine then."

Over the past months there had been many times that Harry had been in trouble with his godfather, many times that he had to face the man and admit his wrong doings or take his punishment but never once, not even for a moment, had he been afraid of his godfather.

Now his body was full of fear.

"You do whatever you want," Sirius replied in a cold voice before stepping into the fireplace and before Harry's brain could formulate a response….he was gone.

**TBC...**


	51. Chapter 51

**Author's Note: Thank you all so much for all the reviews, emails, adds...I really, really appreciate it more than you'll ever know! I want to apologize because I haven't answered a single review or email for the last chapter but I will later tonight, promise! This chapter is a little shorter so my apologies for that as well and I promise the next one will be a long one. Enjoy!**

**Miranda**

* * *

Sirius Black sat at the table enjoying his morning tea and paper the best he could. He wasn't looking forward to the task he was going to set out to do when he was done.

The previous day he had received word from McGonagall that Harry had been caught dueling in the hallway with Draco Malfoy. Of course, when Sirius had been at Hogwarts he had been caught dueling in the halls more than once and because of that Sirius had decided to let this go with nothing more than a stern lecture.

But then the sun had set and Sirius had received a visitor.

He had been sitting in his armchair reading when Hagrid had come through the floo. His initial thought was that something had happened to his godson but Hagrid had quickly assured him that Harry was fine and probably in his dormitory with his friends.

Hagrid had brought along a bottle of firewhisky and the two had had more than a glass a piece when Hagrid had brought up the tournament and how heartbroken Harry was that he wasn't competing.

At first Sirius was somewhat amused at the situation and so he had allowed Hagrid to babble on about it but then Hagrid had made the mistake of admitting that Harry had asked him to come and speak on his behalf.

The moment Sirius heard those words he made his decision…not only was his godson not competing he was going to be grounded as well.

Sirius had abruptly cut off Hagrid explaining to him that while he appreciated his loyalty to his godson, Harry was not going to compete and if he wasn't pulled from the tournament he was in fact going to come home and no amount of firewhisky or persuasion could or would change that.

Sirius sighed as he ran a hand through his long dark hair, no he was not looking forward to going to Hogwarts and grounding his godson, but he didn't see where he really had any other choice.

Having Hagrid come talk for him was creative, Sirius had to give him credit for that but it had also been sneaky as Harry was well aware of Sirius' feelings on this subject and Sirius had enough of talking. It was time for swift action and if grounding the boy would get through to him then he would do it, despite how much he was dreading it.

Sirius took a sip of his tea as he turned the page of the Daily Prophet. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he saw a picture of his godson starring back at him.

Quickly he skimmed the article, his temper rising more and more as he did, before he tucked the paper under his arm and headed for the floo.

He thundered through the halls of Hogwarts causing several students to literally turn and rush off in the other direction when they saw him coming.

When he finally reached his destination he was angry enough to do and say several things he would regret and though he realized that it didn't stop his anger or his voice.

"What the bloody hell is the meaning of this?"

Dumbeldore looked up at Sirius his eyes did not hold the normal glow that they usually did.

"Sirius surely you are aware of what is expected of the champions," Dumbeldore explained calmly.

"Harry is **not **a champion surely you are aware of that!"

"Now Sirius we have been over this…the rules state that Harry must…"

"The rules are bloody barbaric!" Sirius thundered. "And you…you sit in this office claiming you would die to protect your students and yet you're sending him into this tournament like a lamb to be slaughtered!"

Sirius didn't miss the hurt that flashed across the headmaster's face.

"I'm sorry you feel that way…"

"You don't give a damn how I feel or how Harry feels but I promise you this is not over, not as long as I am around!"

Dumbeldore opened his mouth to respond once more but Sirius had heard enough and so he stormed out just as loudly as he had stormed in.

Moments later he was pacing Remus' office waiting while his friend went off to collect his godson. His temper was still flaring and all he wanted was to get Harry away from all this mess. This damn school, Dumbeldore, the tournament, all of it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his godson standing in the doorway. How had he missed hearing him come in?

He wanted to yell, he wanted to scream and so instead he pointed to a chair.

Harry sat immediately and without question as Sirius stopped pacing and threw the paper that he had been carrying around since he left the house down on the table in front of his godson.

"Care to explain this?" He was shocked that his voice came out in a normal tone.

"I didn't say any of those things," his godson quickly explained, "I barely spoke two words to her, she made it all up!"

Harry's words quickly registered with Sirius and he instantly knew his godson was telling the truth. After all, he knew all about Rita Skeeter, she was an odious woman and it was just like her to stretch the truth a mile wide. But this wasn't just about what the paper said.

"Forget what the article says how about the simple fact that you took place in events concerning the tournament in the first place!" His voice was climbing in volume now and Sirius fought with himself to reel his temper in.

"What was I supposed to do?" Harry asked in a helpless voice, "I asked Dumbeldore and he said you knew I was doing it?"

It was at that moment that Sirius literally felt his blood begin to boil. It was at that moment that he felt himself losing all control of the situation.

"I knew I should have kept you home! I knew it was a mistake to trust you wouldn't have to do anything involving the tournament until the first task!"

"Sirius no! It wasn't a mistake," His godson was shaking his head, looking quite upset.

Normally his godson's upset face would stop Sirius or at least force him to tone his rant down but then Hagrid crept into his mind.

"It most certainly was!" He was yelling now. "And what in Merlin's name where you thinking having Hagrid come and speak to me last night? You are very aware of my feelings on this whole charade Harry James and if you thought for even a moment that Hagrid would change my mind you were sorely mistaken!"

His voice was getting louder and he had used his godson's full name.

"I just thought that maybe if you heard it from someone besides me…"

A small part of his brain was telling him to shut up and let his godson state his case but his temper was forcing him to continue.

"You thought wrong young man! Now I want you to go and pack your things as you are coming home!"

"No!" Harry shrieked.

The moment the words had left Sirius' mouth he had regretted them, this wasn't the way this morning was supposed to go at all, and for a brief moment he thought of taking back his words and perhaps sending his godson away until his temper calmed but Harry's defiance had knocked all those thoughts far out of his mind.

"Harry I am warning you, you do not want to push your luck with this as you are already skating on incredibly thin ice as it is."

His godson glared up at him but said nothing and made no effort to move. His temper thundered inside him once more.

"Harry James this is your last chance now go and pack your things."

"I don't want to leave Hogwarts," his godson argued, "You promised that would be a last resort."

"What you want is not the question here," Sirius heard himself saying, "What you need is and as your guardian it is my job to decide what you need and I am deciding that you need to leave Hogwarts until this whole thing blows over it is the last resort, now go to your dormitory and pack your things, I am not going to ask you again."

Sirius watched as Harry stood a defiant, far off look on his godson's face.

"Maybe you shouldn't be my guardian then."

Sirius felt as if he had just taken a punch to the gut. His heart literally hurt in a way he would never, even if he lived to be older than Dumbeldore, be able to put into words.

Unfortunately though, his temper was still going strong.

"Fine then," he said the words in a low voice and instantly noticed the look of fear on his godson's face. A look he had never wanted to be responsible for putting there.

"You do whatever you want," he continued and then before Harry could argue more he stepped into the fireplace and went home.

* * *

Harry stood still in Remus' office for quite awhile after his godfather left.

Had he really just said that to Sirius? To the man who was more brilliant to him than anyone else had ever been? To the person who had stood by him through everything?

He felt like a monster.

He was a huge git. Worse than that. He was the worse person on the face of the earth and he couldn't fix it. He could apologize of course but that wouldn't change the fact that he had said what he had said. It wouldn't erase the look of hurt that had been in his godfather's eyes.

He hadn't meant the words. He had just been so afraid of being made to leave Hogwarts. He had been so frustrated with his godfather for being angry with him and not listening to him. He had been upset and angry about the events that had been going on at school….Malfoy and those stupid badges and Ron and just everything.

It was no excuse though…he knew that. What he said had been beyond horrible and he wouldn't blame Sirius if he never forgave him. He wouldn't blame him if he was packing up his room right this very moment. He wouldn't blame him if he made him go live with the Dursleys again. He deserved all that and more and he knew it.

His throat was burning, a large lump threatening to bring the tears at any moment but he blinked his eyes rapidly forcing them to stay at bay. He wasn't going to cry over this…he had done it to himself after all.

He stood starring at the fireplace. His initial thought was to floo home and try to explain, to beg Sirius to listen and forgive him but then he thought better of it. Perhaps it would be smarter to give it some time, allow his godfather to calm down or something along those lines.

There was a soft knock on the door and when Harry didn't reply to it the door opened slowly to reveal Remus standing there.

"Where's Sirius?" Remus asked.

"Home."

"Home?" Remus looked at Harry and instantly realized that something awful had happened. The boy looked as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. "Did something happen Harry? Did you two have a row?"

Harry stood in silence for a moment before he nodded once.

"Well now I'm sure it isn't all that bad," Remus forced a smile, "The two of you have had rows in the past and…"

"I was horrible," Harry's voice was hardly above a whisper as the first tear of many rolled down his face, "I said something horrible."

"If you need to talk it all over Harry I assure I don't mind list…"

"No," Harry quickly shook his head, "Go talk to Sirius, please, he needs you to."

"He said that?"

"No," Harry admitted more tears now falling, "But just go…please."

"You're upset Harry, surely I'm not going to leave you here like this."

"I'm fine," he insisted as he brushed stray tears off his cheeks, "I have to go…just go to talk to him please Remus."

"Okay," Remus agreed softly, "I'll go talk to him."

* * *

Harry walked into the Gryffindor common room to find it deserted. Every one was in their first class of the day but he didn't care, he wasn't going to class, he had already made up his mind about that.

Brushing the rest of the tears off his face he collapsed onto the couch mentally kicking himself for the entire morning.

Why hadn't he just listened to Sirius and gone and packed his things? Surely once they were home and his godfather had calmed down he could have tried to talk to him…apologized about Hagrid and talked him into letting him come back to Hogwarts.

And why had he said what he had said? Sirius was brilliant as a guardian. Harry couldn't think of anyone else he would rather have. After all who else would do all the things Sirius did for him and love him and stand by him no matter what mess he got himself into?

The lump was forming once more and he swallowed hard forcing it back down.

"There you are!"

He turned his head slowly to see Hermione standing behind him and then quickly turned his face away from her.

"When you didn't show up to class Professor McGonagall asked that I come and see if I could find you, she seemed quite worried."

Harry shrugged at this news not trusting himself to speak.

"Why are you sitting here all alone?" She asked as she crossed the room and sat down beside him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Yes there is," she replied, "You look as though you've been crying…you never cry."

"I haven't," Harry said though he knew it was obvious he had.

"Harry," she said softly, "What is it?"

He sat in silence for several moments before he spoke.

"I'm a huge git."

"You are not," Hermione replied, "Now what happened?"

"Sirius wanted to take me home."

"Wanted to? So he isn't?" The young girl asked.

Harry shrugged, "Not now, I don't think…not after what happened."

"What happened?"

"I said something horrible," Harry explained in a soft voice, "I said…I said that maybe he shouldn't be my guardian."

Hermione flinched at these words. "Harry, how could you?"

"I don't know," he admitted swallowing down the lump once more, "I was angry and he was angry and we had a row and they just came out."

"What did he say?" Hermione asked with a worried look on her face.

"He told me to do whatever I want and he left."

Harry listened as Hermione sighed softly.

"He must hate me."

"No," Hermione quickly shook her head, "He doesn't hate you, he could never hate you but you have to go talk to him you have to fix it."

"I can't fix it Hermione, I can't take it back I already said it."

"True, you can't but you can apologize….you need to apologize."

"I know," Harry replied.

"So then why are you sitting here alone? You need to floo yourself home and…"

"Remus is there," Harry cut her off, "He went to talk to Sirius."

"So?" There was no mistaking the confusion in her voice.

"So I can't talk to him while Remus is there," Harry hoped she understood because he couldn't explain it in any other way.

"I'm sure Remus would go if you went home."

"Maybe," Harry agreed.

"I have to get back to class…I'll tell Professor McGonagall you aren't feeling well," Hermione said as she stood up, "But go home and talk to him Harry…he loves you, that's very obvious and you love him too…you need each other and I think you know that I'm right."

**TBC...**


	52. Chapter 52

**Author's note: As always thank you all so much for all the feedback and support! I'm going crazy right now...I have state tests for school next week and then finals and a million and one things going on in my life so I don't know when I'll get the next chapter up but hopefully it won't be too long. Enjoy this chapter!**

**Miranda**

* * *

Remus rushed through the floo to find Sirius sitting in his armchair staring into space, a subdued look on his face much like the one Harry had worn before he had dissolved into tears.

Remus stood there for several moments but his oldest friend made no move to acknowledge him.

"Padfoot?" Remus finally said in a concerned voice.

"Hmm?" Still Sirius made no movement and continued to stare.

"What in Merlin's name happened?" Remus asked as he sat perched on the edge of the couch.

Several moments of silence

"I'm dreadful at this parenting thing." Sirius finally spoke.

"Nonsense," Remus tried to assure him, "Harry loves you dearly, that's more than obvious."

Sirius shook his head, "He wants nothing to do with me."

"What happened?" Remus tried once more.

"I lost my temper," Sirius admitted, "James never would have acted as I did this morning."

It was true, James had rarely ever lost his temper but to think that if he had been alive he would have never lost it with Harry was a bit of a stretch.

"Everyone loses their temper from time to time and James was no exception, you can't honestly think that he would have never lost his temper with Harry."

Sirius shrugged, "He wouldn't have acted like I did."

"So you punished Harry for the Hagrid situation, I honestly don't blame you, he should have known better than to convince Hagrid to do such a thing."

"I didn't punish him."

"Then what happ…"

"I exploded," Sirius cut his friend off, "I yelled at him and tried to force him to come home, to leave Hogwarts."

"Tried to?" Remus asked.

"We had the worst row we've probably ever had and he told me that I shouldn't be his guardian," Sirius said the words in a low voice and Remus could clearly hear the hurt seeping through.

Remus' mind couldn't help but go back to just a week prior when Harry had told him that he couldn't tell him what to do. Remus remembered the hurt that had come with those words and couldn't even imagine the amount of pain his best mate was feeling.

Remus wasn't an overly strict man. Of course there had been many times he had expressed Harry's need for a firm hand but honestly if the boy was in his care he'd probably be far more lenient than he gave on. His bark was far worse than his bite so to speak and the majority of the time he was all talk but in this moment he wanted nothing more than to floo back to Hogwarts and give Harry a mouth soaping that he wouldn't soon forget. One that would make him think several times before he spoke to his godfather or anyone the way he apparently had less than an hour ago but he thought better than sharing his displeasure with Sirius.

"Padfoot he was upset, surely you know he didn't mean it. You remember being his age, you get upset and you say things you don't mean."

Sirius shrugged and Remus realized that this was going to take a little more convincing.

"What Harry said was wrong and hurtful, I'm not excusing that but the boy has the weight of the world on his shoulders these days. He and Ron aren't speaking, half of the students are wearing these ridiculous badges degrading him, the Slytherins are constantly picking on him and calling him a coward…again I'm not trying to make excuses for the child but he is hurting Sirius and I believe he is scared and not just about being made to leave Hogwarts but about competing should he end up staying."

Remus watched as Sirius sat in silence digesting all of this information. He was silent once more for several moments and when he spoke his voice was a serious one.

"Moony honestly if you were me…would you let him compete?"

Remus looked up at his friend and sighed.

"Honestly Sirius I would probably fight tooth and nail for him just as you have been but in the end you must realize the only solution is to pull Harry from Hogwarts and it scares me to think what that could do to your relationship."

Sirius nodded slowly before he spoke once more.

"Do you think James would have let him?"

"James wouldn't have had to make the decision;" Remus smiled softly, "Lily would have taken care of this one."

Sirius nodded once more knowing Remus was right.

"You are an excellent guardian to Harry," Remus spoke, "He loves you and although he may not always show it he does respect you. James and Lily would be honored to see the wonderful job you are doing with their son, you must know that."

Sirius nodded once before he smiled softly, "Thank you Remus."

"Now I have to get back to teach a class shortly but I'm sure this will all work out…I'll stop back after supper alright?"

Sirius nodded once.

* * *

Harry sat on the couch in the Gryffindor common room for a long time, so long in fact that eventually his classmates began to show up, dropping off their books before heading to lunch.

He ignored them all, staring into the fireplace, until he felt a hand touch his shoulder. Turning slightly he saw Hermione standing behind him, a concerned look on her face.

"Are you coming to lunch?" She asked softly.

Harry shook his head.

"But you didn't eat breakfast either."

"I'm not hungry," he replied.

She paused for a moment chewing on her bottom lip before she spoke once more, "Do you want to go for a walk, maybe go down by the lake and talk?"

Harry shook his head.

"Harry you can't just sit here forever! Get up! You're going home to talk to him!"

"What if it doesn't want to talk?" Harry asked in a small voice that he hated himself for revealing, "What if he hates me?"

"He doesn't," Hermione assured him, "I'll even walk you to the defense room."

"Remus probably hates me too," Harry muttered as he stood up.

"I'm sure he doesn't either but if it makes you feel better he's not in his office, I saw him heading down to the great hall on my way here."

Harry wasn't sure if that made him feel better or not. He couldn't decide if he would rather face his godfather alone or with Remus there.

"What's the absolute worse that could happen?" Hermione asked as the two stepped through the fat lady portrait, "So you might have to leave Hogwarts, it won't be forever."

"He could send me away," Harry replied, "I did tell him he shouldn't be my guardian."

"He isn't going to send you away, Sirius loves you."

Harry shrugged as the two made their way down the hall.

"Don't shrug as if you don't believe that anymore, he does love you," Hermione said the words in a stern voice, "If he didn't love you than your words would have no effect on him and it's obvious by the way you've been acting that they did. If he didn't love you he wouldn't care what you did or said and he does."

"And I was horrible to him."

"And you will apologize and it will all be better," Hermione declared as they approached the door to the defense classroom.

"What if it's not?" Harry asked pausing in front of the door.

"It will be, but if it's not we'll figure something out, I promise, now go!"

* * *

Harry stood in front of Remus' fireplace for a long time, a handful of floo powder in his hand before he mustered up the courage to step inside.

When he landed in his living room he found Sirius sitting in his armchair, his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands.

"Sirius?" He said in a soft voice as he stepped out of the fireplace.

Sirius sat up looked up at his godson and saw the absolute fear and sadness in the boys face and felt his heart hurt once more. "Come here Pup." He said the words in a soft voice and Harry literally ran to his godfather falling into his lap for a hug.

"I'm so sorry," Harry blubbered, "I didn't mean what I said, I swear I didn't, you are brilliant you really are."

"I know you didn't mean it," Sirius assured him in a soft voice as he hugged his godson close to his chest.

"No," Harry declared as he pulled himself away from his godfather, "I am so sorry and you should be so mad at me. You should ground me and take away my broom and spank me and make me leave Hogwarts and stay in my room everyday for a month and…"

"Harry calm down," Sirius said softly, "I know you are sorry and I know you didn't mean it. You were angry with me, I know."

"But I shouldn't have been," Harry replied, "You're in charge and I should have just listened to you and I'm sorry."

Sirius smiled at his godson as he ruffled the boy's hair. "You're right, you should have just listened but maybe I should have too."

"Huh?" Harry asked in a confused voice.

"I should have listened to you and I'm sorry I didn't. When I was your age I would have acted just as you are if I was in your situation, I would have gone positively mental if someone was trying to take me away from Hogwarts but I wasn't thinking about how horrible it would have been for you, I was only thinking about how horrible it would be to watch you compete and I am sorry for that. And this morning, I never meant to lose my temper with you like I did, I never meant to yell or tell you that you had to leave today, I really messed up in that aspect."

"You didn't," Harry assured him, "I messed up more than you did because I said something horrible."

"Harry listen to me…I know you didn't mean it and it's over, I'm not angry with you."

"How can you not be?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"I've told you, I know you didn't mean it."

"I really didn't," Harry replied.

"And so it's done with…forgotten…but unfortunately there are still a few other things to deal with here."

"I know," Harry nodded.

"I'm not upset about the article because I realize it was not your fault but it was not okay to ask Hagrid to come and talk to me but you know that don't you?"

Again Harry nodded. "I know and I was horrible today."

Sirius sighed as he ran a hand through his hair clearly his talking was getting them no where because despite what he had said his godson was still bring up the day's events, maybe it was time to take a different approach.

"You're going to have to be punished you know," Sirius forced his voice to be stern.

"I know."

Quickly and without talking Sirius helped his godson off his lap before he positioned him on it once more, this time in a more dreaded position.

Harry instantly grabbed a handful of his godfather's pant leg as Sirius raised his hand high and brought it down on his godson's behind. He didn't hit him hard at all, nor was it overly soft, but more somewhere in the middle.

He felt Harry suck in his breath and then he carefully and quickly righted the boy.

Harry looked at his godfather with a confused face.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"What was that?" Harry asked unable to keep the confusion out of his voice.

"Your punishment," Sirius smiled, "I told you I'm not angry with you but clearly you didn't want to listen."

"That wasn't a real punishment," Harry noted.

"Exactly because I'm not really cross…now will you let it go?"

Harry couldn't help the smile that had spread across his face and he quickly leaned over and gave his godfather a hug.

"I love you."

"I love you too Pup….but we still have one last thing to discuss."

Harry pulled away from Sirius and looked up at him, "McGonagall sent you an owl?"

"She did," Sirius nodded, "And we probably should discuss that as well but we won't…just don't do it again alright?"

Harry nodded quickly. "Then what do we have to discuss. I haven't gotten in any other trouble."

"I know you haven't," Sirius chuckled, "But we need to discuss the tournament. Do you really truly want to do it?"

Harry shrugged.

"Talk to me Pup, don't resort to shrugging please."

"I don't want to leave Hogwarts," Harry said, "I really don't. And I don't want people to think I am a coward."

Sirius sighed. "I want you to listen to me and remember this…you should never do something you don't want to do for fear of what others will think, understood?"

"Yeah, I know," Harry nodded.

"And now I can't believe I am about to say this, and trust me when I say that I'm not one hundred percent comfortable with it and I know I'll never love this idea but if you want to do this tournament you may…I'm not going to pull you from Hogwarts to keep you out of it."

"But before you said…"

"I know all the things I've said and I stand by them. I don't think it is fair to you to make you compete in this and I don't like the idea of you doing so but I don't want to make you leave Hogwarts…I don't want to do that to you. However I reserve the right to pull you out of it if anything happens that shouldn't and I want you to know that if at any moment you decide you don't want to continue with it then it stops, I don't care if you are in the middle of a task, you just walk away."

Harry looked up at his godfather with a serious face. "Do you think I'll be able to do it?"

"You? I think you can do anything," Sirius smiled, "And perhaps you were on to something when you said that Remus and I could help you."

"You're really going to just let me do this?" Harry asked. "You aren't going to get mad if I do it?"

"I won't get mad, I promise you that," Sirius replied.

"This is really brilliant of you," Harry smiled, "Thanks Sirius."

"Anything for you Pup."

* * *

It was well after supper when Remus returned to visit with Sirius. He found his best mate sitting at the kitchen table, a glass of firewhisky in front of him.

"Harry seemed happier when I saw him at supper," Remus noted as he sat down, "Things are better than?"

"With Harry and I…yes."

Sirius poured a second glass and passed it to his friend.

"If you two made up what could possibly be wrong now?"

"I told him he could compete," Sirius said before taking a long swig of his drink.

Remus raised an eyebrow as he too took a drink. "I hope you aren't beating yourself up over it, after all what other choice did you honestly have? If you pulled him from Hogwarts I'm afraid you two would wind up killing each other with the tempers you have."

Sirius couldn't help but chuckle softly at Remus' assessment…it was true pulling Harry from Hogwarts would only result in a million arguments between him and his godson.

"I guess I'm just afraid Moony, afraid something will happen to him and then I gave him permission and…"

"Nothing is going to happen," Remus cut him off, "We'll help him and he'll be fine, you'll see…he's a smart boy, quite good at defense, if he wants to do this than he'll be able to handle it."

Remus wasn't sure he completely believed the words he had just spoken but he didn't feel the need to share that with Sirius.

"I just worry about him," Sirius said softly.

"Of course you do, you're his parent and you love him."

**TBC...**


	53. Chapter 53

**Author's Note: Thank you all so much for all the reviews, adds, emails, etc. I apologize for this chapter being shorter but I have a crazy busy week this week so I wanted to get something up because I may not just a chance to update again until next week. Enjoy! **

**Miranda**

* * *

"Have you given any thought to what the first task might be?"

Supper had just ended and Harry and Hermione were still sitting in the great hall, though many of their classmates had already headed back to their dormitories.

"I've given it loads of thought," Harry responded "But I don't know anything for sure."

"I was thinking you should probably learn the Summoning Charms," Hermione noted as Harry glanced down the table to where Ron and Seamus were sitting, "It could really come in handy."

"Yeah good idea," Harry nodded, "I'll talk to Sirius about it."

"I could teach you too you know." She paused sighing as she noticed Harry glancing down at Ron once more. "Why don't you just go talk to him…it's obvious you miss him and I know he misses you too."

"Miss him?" Harry asked in disgusted voice, "I do not miss him."

"Mmhmm," Hermione muttered.

It was a bold face lie and Harry knew it. Of course, Harry liked Hermione, after all she was one of his best friends but she just wasn't the same as Ron.

"I don't!" Harry insisted as Remus walked up to the two of them.

"Hello Professor," Hermione smiled.

"Hermione," Remus returned the smile before turning to Harry and speaking in a hushed tone, "Hagrid has asked that you meet him at midnight…"

Harry opened his mouth to respond but Remus beat him to it.

"I spoke to Sirius about it just before supper…he knows and its okay…use your cloak and take Hermione with you. When you are done with Hagrid come to my office, understand?"

Harry nodded dumbfounded. Sneak out of the castle at midnight under his cloak? That would be a brilliant adventure and the best part was he had his godfather's permission.

Remus straightened up and glanced around to be sure no one had been listening before he walked away.

"I wonder if it's about the first task," Harry whispered across the table to his friend.

"It must be," Hermione nodded, "Why else would he be telling you to sneak out of the castle."

* * *

Midnight couldn't come soon enough for Harry, he had retired to his four post bed early, drawing the curtains around him he lied wide awake waiting for time to pass.

He and Hermione had agreed to meet in the common room at 11:45 and at half past eleven Harry could take the waiting game no more and so he quietly crept out of his bed and removed his cloak from his trunk before creeping down the stairs.

He had been afraid that someone would be in the common room but luckily it was deserted.

Harry sat on the couch, his cloak lying next to him for a moment he feared that Hermione had fallen asleep but the more he thought about it the more he doubted it. She could be little miss studious and play by the rules all she wanted but he knew her far better than that and he knew she wouldn't be able to resist tonight.

Harry heard footsteps descending the stairs behind him and he turned quickly hoping to see Hermione and the annoyance rising in him when he saw Ron.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked.

"Why is it any of your business?" Harry snarled. "What are you doing following me?"

"I just wondered…nevermind I'm going to bed."

Harry knew that Ron had no idea what he and Hermione were planning on doing but he didn't care at that moment he hated everything about Ron.

"Just thought you'd come nosing around did you?" Harry asked as he stood up.

"Sorry about that," Ron replied his face growing red with anger, "I'll leave you alone so you can practice for your next interview in peace."

Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw one of the badges that Malfoy had passed around the school and quickly picked it up and threw it across the room. It hit Ron on the forehead before it fell to the floor.

"There you go!" Harry all but shouted, "You can wear it to the first task or if you're really lucky maybe it'll give you a scar! That's what you want isn't it?"

Ron strode across the room so the two were standing face to face with the couch between them. Harry almost wanted Ron to throw a punch at him just so they could get it all out in the open and over and done with but Ron just stood there staring at him before he turned and walked back up the stairs.

Not even a moment later Hermione appeared.

"What happened?" She asked in a hushed voice, "I just saw Ron and he looked upset."

"_He _looked upset?" Harry asked in an annoyed voice.

"Sorry," Hermione said in a quiet voice, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Harry replied as he picked up his cloak, "Let's just go before someone else comes down here."

Hermione opened her mouth to speak but thought better of it and just nodded as she allowed Harry to slip the cloak over both of them before he pulled the map from his pocket.

Quietly they made their way through the castle, careful to watch the map in order to avoid Flitch or anyone else.

It wasn't until they were inches from Hagrid's cabin that Harry removed the cloak from them before sprinting to Hagrid's front door and knocking once.

Hagrid opened the door and smiled at the two of them.

"See Remus got the message to you."

"Yeah," Harry nodded, "What's this all about?"

"Put the cloak back on and the two of you keep quiet under it and follow me…stay close too I'm not bringing Fang, he won't like it."

"Hagrid what is this…"

"Just listen to me and do as I say," Hagrid cut off Harry in a no nonsense voice that shocked Harry, it wasn't like Hagrid to sound so stern.

"We don't have a lot of time," Hagrid quickly explained his smile returning, "Don't want to keep the two of you out too late do we?"

Harry nodded as he slipped the cloak back over himself and Hermione.

"Stay close now," Hagrid told them once more before he turned and headed into the forest.

Harry heard Hermione make a pitiful sound as they began to follow Hagrid and he completely understood, after all the forest wasn't exactly a pleasant place.

They walked for what seemed like hours to Harry and he hoped they would get wherever they were headed soon.

And then suddenly…Hagrid stopped.

Harry heard Hermione suck her breath in in fear and for a moment he couldn't figure out why. In the distance it looked as though there were huge bonfires with men running around them and then he realized that they weren't bonfires.

They were dragons.

"Stay here," Hagrid hissed the words in a whisper before he walked towards the men.

There were four dragons and at least six or seven men to every one dragon, trying to control them, pulling on the chains connected to heavy straps around their necks and legs.

"Keep back Hagrid," one of the men yelled, "They can shoot fire up to forty feet you know!"

"They are so beautiful," Hagrid replied to the man and Harry heard Hermione make a strange sound, like a whimper.

"They are not happy about traveling here," the man yelled to Hagrid once more as he ran across the forest towards Hagrid and Harry suddenly realized that the man's voice was familiar.

"What breeds you got there Charlie?" Hagrid asked.

"Charlie Weasley," Harry whispered and he felt Hermione nod softly.

"A Hungarian Horntail, a Common Welsh Green, a Swedish Short-Snout, and a Chinese Fireball," Charlie called out the names to Hagrid.

"So that's one for each champion then?" Hagrid asked. "They gonna fight them?"

"Just get past them I think," Charlie responded, "We'll be on hand in case things get too dangerous. I pity the one that gets the Horntail it's the nastiest by far."

Harry's stomach felt as if he had just fallen off his broom…a dragon, he would have to get past a dragon.

"How's Harry holding up?" Charlie suddenly asked.

"Fine," Hagrid answered as he gazed in wonderment at the dragons in the distance.

"I just hope he's still fine after the first task, I haven't even told mum what he's got to do in a few days time, she's already going mental over the whole idea of him competing, of Sirius letting him."

Harry felt himself blush at Charlie's words the last thing he wanted was for Mrs. Weasley to think his godfather unfit over this tournament.

"Harry will be able to handle it," Hagrid spoke, "And Sirius didn't have much of a choice did he?"

Harry couldn't help the loyalty and love he felt for Hagrid at that moment.

"Can I get a closer look at them?" Hagrid continued his eyes holding that far off longing for the dragons once more.

"Some," Charlie nodded, "But not much closer."

"Let's go," Harry whispered to Hermione before he began to turn and head back towards the castle.

The two walked in complete silence.

Harry wasn't sure whether he was glad that he had seen what was coming or not. Finally he decided it was probably better this way. If he hadn't known about the dragons he might have just fainted in front of the whole school the moment he saw it. But then again he still might do that his only weapon was going to be his wand which at the moment seemed like nothing more than a twig compared to those dragons. And he had to get past it. And with everyone watching?

"What are you thinking?" Hermione asked in a hushed voice as they exited the forest.

"I need to talk to Sirius," Harry replied.

He wanted to run to Remus' office but he knew from experience that running under the cloak was a quick way to get caught and so he settled on walking as fast as he possibly could while still keeping himself and Hermione completely covered.

It wasn't until he knocked on Remus' door that he pulled the cloak off their heads.

The door flung open and Harry looked up to see his godfather standing there.

"I was beginning to think you got lost," Sirius said as he stepped out of the way allowing Harry and Hermione to enter the room and then quickly closing the door behind him.

"So what is it?" Sirius asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Hermione asked in a shocked voice.

Remus quickly shook his head, "Hagrid only said that he knew the first task would be delivered tonight, he didn't know what it would be or if he did he didn't say."

"Dragons," Harry blurted out. His stomach once again felt as if he was falling and the feeling only worsened when he saw his godfather's face.

"Dear Merlin," Remus muttered under his breath.

"No," Sirius shook his head, "Absolutely not, I did not agree to dragons!"

"Now Padfoot," Remus said in a gentle voice, "We just need to think I'm sure there is a spell that could…"

"Keep my godson from getting killed?" Sirius replied in an exasperated voice.

"Charlie Weasley was there," Harry said, "He told Hagrid that he and a bunch of others would be watching, ready to step in if things got too dangerous."

"More dangerous than fighting a dragon?" Sirius shook his head, "No…I don't like this one bit."

"You said you wouldn't get mad," Harry reminded him, "You promised."

"I also said I reserved the right to pull you out."

"He doesn't have to fight it," Hermione pointed out, "Just get around it."

Sirius looked at Hermione as if he had just realized she was in the room.

"And you said you would only pull me out if something strange happened and this is not strange, it's just the first task."

Sirius sighed as he ran a hand through his long hair.

"Perhaps if you could transfigure it," Hermione thought out loud.

"A dragon is far too big to transfigure," Remus spoke in a kind voice, "That would be an excellent idea though."

Hermione nodded smiling at Remus' praise.

"Harry you honestly want to try and take on a dragon?" Sirius asked in a tired voice.

_NO!_ Harry's brain screamed._ I want to go back in time and take my name out of the damn goblet in the first place!_

But instead he shrugged. "I don't _want _to but I can, I will."

Sirius sighed as he nodded. "Alright than we need to think this over and figure out how he can do this," he spoke, "How about we meet tomorrow night and see if we've come up with any ideas and we'll just go from there."

Hermione and Remus nodded as Harry mouthed a silent _thank you _to his godfather. He wasn't just thankful for Sirius' allowing him to compete either but for his calm demeanor in front of Remus and Hermione.

* * *

Harry lied awake in bed that night for a long time racking his brain for any spell that might help him get past a dragon but he was coming up empty handed. The first task was less than a week away and when he finally fell asleep around three in the morning he prayed that Hermione, Remus, and Sirius were having better luck than he was trying to find a solution.

**TBC...**


	54. Chapter 54

**Author's Notes: Thank you all so much for the reviews, adds, emails! I don't know why I say ridiculous things such as my week is far too busy to update because I just can't seem to stay away ;) See when we have state tests we only have them in the morning and we have half days and well ya'll don't care haha. **

**Enjoy this chapter! I'm going to try to have the next one up soon.**

**Miranda**

* * *

"For your homework I expect no less than four feet on the uses of unicorn horns," Snape instructed as the class gathered their things, "Potter you will stay behind."

Harry groaned under his breath as Hermione threw him a sympathetic look. He watched as his classmates exited the room and when the last was gone he turned to Snape.

"The first task is approaching," Snape spoke as he wrote on a piece of parchment his eyes not looking at Harry, "Have you any idea how you are to succeed at it?"

"No," Harry replied honestly.

Snape stopped writing for a moment to glare up at him.

"No Sir," Harry repeated hastily.

"Let me make you aware Potter that I think it is utterly ridiculous for your godfather to allow you to compete and mark my words if you were my charge I would have pulled you out of this school despite your tantrums."

Harry felt his face grow warm…how in the world did Snape know about that?

Snape was still writing, his head bowed, not looking at Harry at all.

"I do not play favorites Potter," Snape continued.

_Yeah right_, Harry thought, _it's just a coincidence that you never embarrass any of the Slytherins in class._

"However I will give you some advice…play to your strength Potter."

"Sir?" Harry asked in a confused voice.

"What are you exceedingly talented at?" Snape asked in a bored voice as he continued to write.

"Nothing," Harry muttered before he could stop himself.

Snape's head snapped up. "Nothing Potter?" He asked in an annoyed voice, "Are you not the youngest seeker in over a century?"

"Well yeah," Harry admitted, "But I can't have my broom, just my wand."

"Yeah is not a word," Snape replied and it was clear to Harry that the man was losing what little patience he may have processed.

"Yes Sir."

"It is true Mr. Potter you may not have your broom however may I suggest that you stick to a nice, simple spell…one that even you could not falter with."

Harry resisted the urge to make a face.

"You may go now," Snape said dismissing him.

Harry nodded before he turned and walked out of the classroom. What the bloody hell was Snape on about? He was racking his brain for an answer so hard that he walked directly into Hermione.

"What did he want?" She asked ignoring the fact that she had been nearly knocked over.

And then suddenly it clicked in Harry's mind.

"Hermione you are bloody brilliant!"

Hermione smiled and blushed involuntarily. "Me? Why?"

"You said yesterday or the day before remember…that I should learn the Summoning Charm…do you remember?"

Hermione nodded, "Well you should, it's really quite handy all the time and it…"

"If I knew how to do that I could summon my broom and if I could get my broom I could fly past the dragon!" Harry nearly shrieked.

Hermione's face lighted up as she nodded. "That would work, I know it would!"

"We have to go talk to Sirius and Remus, we have to go practice!"

"We have class with Remus in a moment," Hermione pointed out, "We can't just ditch it."

"Sure we can," Harry replied already starting off to the Defense room, "If we explain he'll let us, I know he will. The first task is tomorrow Hermione!"

Hermione nodded as she hurried to keep up. "Will Sirius be home?"

"I hope but if not we can practice there, you said you could teach me right?"

"Yeah of course I can."

The two were racing through the halls at a great speed when Harry suddenly skidded to a stop.

"What is it?" Hermione asked as she paused next to him.

Across the hall, in a group of students, was Cedric.

"You go on," Harry instructed his friend, "Explain to Remus…I want to talk to Cedric real fast."

"Okay but hurry up, class starts in ten minutes and we should probably talk to Remus before…"

"I know," Harry nodded, "I'll be quick."

Once Hermione had left Harry motioned to Cedric to join him and waited patiently for Cedric to leave his group of friends.

"Listen," Harry said in a hushed voice, "I'm not sure why I'm going to tell you this…but the first task…its dragons, we have to get past a dragon."

Harry watched as Cedric's eyes bulged out of his head and instantly knew he had done the right thing.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," Harry nodded, "I saw them."

The two were silent for a moment and then Harry spoke once more.

"I have to go; I just figured you'd want to know."

He turned to walk away when he felt someone touch his arm and slowly he turned his head back to Cedric.

"Thanks," Cedric said softly.

Harry nodded once and gave the boy a half smile before he took off once more, racing towards the Defense classroom.

* * *

"Concentrate, Harry concentrate…" Hermione willed him.

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Harry replied in an annoyed voice, "A great big dragon keeps popping in my head for some reason."

"Just try and relax Pup," Sirius instructed calmly, "Clear your mind."

Harry had been in his living room practicing with Sirius and Hermione for hours now. He had been trying with all his might to make various objects fly across the room toward him but he was still having problems. Books, newspapers, quills…they were all making it halfway across the room towards him and then dropping like heavy rocks on to the floor.

The moment Hermione had explained to Remus what was going on the Professor's face had lit up and he had immediately shooed her into his office and instructed her to floo to Sirius and explain to him. When Harry had entered the defense classroom he had sent him through to his office as well telling him to practice as long as he needed to and not to worry about class and to instruct Hermione to do the same.

Sirius had been quite shocked when Harry explained that it was Severus who had given him the idea to summons his broom and he couldn't help but think perhaps Lily had been right in not judging him so harshly.

And so they had practiced all afternoon. Hermione and Sirius were brilliant and patient teachers, not getting at all frustrated when Harry couldn't succeed with the spell.

It was Harry who felt all the frustration as he was on the verge of throwing a fit if he didn't get it soon and Sirius, sensing this, insisted they all take a break and eat some supper.

Normally supper with Sirius took quite some time as he and Harry enjoyed sitting in each other's company and talking throughout their meal and then enjoying tea together accompanied by more conversation. Tonight however, Harry raced through his supper and declined the offer of tea and in less than an hour from the time Sirius insisted they stop practicing they were back in the living room doing just that.

Another hour passed and Remus showed up lending his support and encouraging words.

And then finally just before midnight Harry pointed his wand.

"Accio book!"

One of his godfather's favorite books picked itself up off the table next to the armchair and soared through the air stopping next to Harry, hovering, waiting for Harry to take it.

"You did it!" Hermione shrieked unable to contain her excitement.

"Well done Harry", Remus smiled.

"Excellent work Pup!"

Harry smiled brightly as he took the book in his hand and then set it down on the couch.

"Try something further away," Remus suggested, "Something in your room perhaps."

"Yes," Sirius nodded, "Good idea."

Harry quickly cleared his head of all the praise and held his wand out once more.

"Accio chess set!"

He stood in anticipation, holding his breath sure it didn't work as the seconds ticked by loudly from the clock above the fireplace.

And then there it was wizzing through the air down the stairs and into the living room. It stopped inches in front of Harry's face and he proudly reached out and grabbed it.

"That was so good Harry!" Hermione exclaimed looking exhausted but very pleased.

"Well now we know what to do when he can't manage a spell," Sirius chuckled, "Just threaten him with a dragon."

"But my broom is going to be much farther away than all this stuff was what if…"

"It doesn't matter," Sirius cut him off.

"Just as long as you concentrate on it, it will come," Remus explained.

"And now you two had better head back and get some sleep," Sirius said, "You're going to need it."

* * *

Harry went to bed that night feeling quite pleased with himself the anticipation of the tournament finally lifted. However when he awoke the next morning it had all returned. The atmosphere of the school was one of great excitement and tension. Classes were stopping midway through the day so that everyone would have time to get down to the first task.

Harry felt separated from everyone; he would be walking through a hall filled with people and feel as if he was the only one there. Every person he passed either wished him luck or hissed something about him dying but he hardly heard any of it.

The day was passing much too quickly for his liking. One moment he was sitting in History of Magic and the next he was at lunch listening to Hermione give him last minute tips and pointers for the summoning charm.

He pushed his lunch around his plate silently wondering if it would be that horrible of an idea to floo home and tell Sirius he didn't want to do this.

Professor McGonagall was hurrying over to him and it seemed as if everyone in the Great Hall was watching.

"Potter, the champions have to come down onto the grounds now…You have to get ready for your first task."

Harry nodded absentmindedly as he stood up.

"Good luck," Hermione whispered, "You'll do great, I know it!"

Harry walked out of the Great Hall with Professor McGonagall and if possible she looked more nervous than he did.

As they walked onto the grounds he felt her hand touch his shoulder.

"Now don't panic," she said, "just keep calm, we've got wizards standing by to control the situation if it gets out of hand. The main thing you need to do is just try your best and no one will think any less of you. Are you all right Potter?"

"Yes I'm fine," Harry heard the words but he honestly couldn't remember speaking them.

They turned the corner and Harry saw that a huge tent had been erected, its entrance facing them.

"You're to go in there with the other champions," McGonagall explained, "Professor Dumbeldore is inside, he'll explain the task to you…Good luck."

"Thanks," Harry replied in a distant voice before he turned to walk inside the tent.

"Harry!" Dumbeldore smiled brightly the moment he spotted him, "Now that you're all here I'll explain things."

Harry surveyed the room quickly.

Fleur was sitting off by herself, looking as though her nerves were shot. Krum was in a corner, leaning against a table, looking as miserable as always. Cedric was pacing the room looking nervous but he gave Harry a small smile when he spotted him.

"When the audience has assembled," Dumbeldore continued, "I will offer each of you this bag," he held up a small purple silk satchel, "from which you will then each select a small model of the things you are about to face. When it is your turn to face the creature you pick, your task will be to collect the golden egg."

The others nodded and Harry followed suit. No one spoke and he couldn't help but wonder if they all felt as he did…as if they would sick up if they dared to open their mouth.

In a few moments time hundreds of feet could be heard passing by the tent, people talked excitedly…laughing and joking and Harry couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy at them.

It felt as if only seconds had passed since Dumbeldore had last spoken when he was opening the neck of the purple satchel and offering it to Fleur.

Fleur was unable to control the shakiness of her hand as she reached inside and pulled out a tiny model of a dragon…the Welsh Green.

She didn't look shocked at all and Harry instantly realized he had done the right thing in telling Cedric as someone had obviously told Fleur.

Someone had obviously told Krum as well as he showed no sign of surprise when he pulled out his tiny model…the Chinese Fireball.

Harry watched as Cedric pulled out the Swedish Short-Snout and then held his breath as he reached into the satchel and pulled out the Hungarian Horntail.

"Well there we are," Dumbeldore smiled brightly, "Now when the whistle is blown we shall begin and you will go in order of your age meaning Cedric you will be first followed by Fleur, Krum, and then of course Harry."

Harry sighed in relief…at least he wasn't first.

The flap of the tent was suddenly pulled to the side.

"May I speak with Harry please?"

"Certainly," Dumbeldore smiled.

Harry crossed the tent trying hard to look much braver than he felt and when he reached the entrance he stepped out of it allowing it to fall closed behind him.

"How you holding up?" Sirius asked in a concerned voice.

"I'm okay," Harry lied.

"Just remember what we practiced last night, remember to concentrate, remember to try and remain calm and clear your mind, remember to try and ignore all the sounds around you, remember…"

"I know," Harry cut off his godfather, "I remember it all."

Sirius sighed running a hand through his long, dark hair. "Well then remember that I love you as well and I believe in you and I'm proud of you okay?"

"Okay," Harry smiled a small smile, "I'll remember."

* * *

It was the worst feeling Harry could imagine, sitting in the tent and listening. The crowd screamed and yelled and gasped as the three older students took their turns. Each turn followed by an eruption of applause and cheers as Dumbeldore announced the judge's scores.

Harry's heart was pumping fast and his entire body tingled with fear.

Slowly he stood noticing that his legs felt like wet noodles and then the whistle blew and he slowly walked out of the tent and into the enclosed area.

Harry looked up and saw hundreds of faces in the crowd but he couldn't worry about that at the moment. Across the enclosure was the dragon, protecting the egg, its wings out wide, and its eyes zeroing in on him. It was time to do what he had to do…to focus his mind solely and absolutely on the thing that was his only chance….

He raised his wand high in the air.

"Accio Firebolt!" He shouted.

Harry held his breath, every fiber of his being hoping and praying… it was at that moment that he wished they would have come up with a back up plan. If it wasn't coming…if it never came.

And then he heard it speeding through the air behind him, he turned and saw his broom obediently hovering next to him, waiting for him to mount it.

The stands went crazy with people shouting but all Harry heard was noise, noise that he was trying to block out.

He swung his leg over the broom and kicked off from the ground. As he soared high above the crowd he forced himself to think calmly and rationally.

_This is just another Quidditch match,_ he told himself, _and that dragon is just the Slytherin team and the egg is just the snitch._

Harry dove down towards the ground hearing the crowd gasp as he did so, the Horntail leapt at him but he knew what he was going to do…at the last possible second he pulled out of the dive and headed back into the air and just in time too because the dragon had let off a jet of fire that would have engulfed him had he not moved.

Instantly his mind went to his godfather and how much he must have just scared him but he forced his thoughts away from that, Sirius had said he believed in him and he wasn't about to let Sirius down.

Harry glanced down at the enclosure to see that the Horntail had gone back to protecting the egg and he knew what he had to do.

He flew one way and then the other, not near enough for the dragon to reach him, just near enough to pose a threat to the egg.

He flew higher and the dragon's head rose with him.

Harry flew a few more feet higher. The dragon shot fire in the air, which he dodged. Her jaws were open wide.

"Come on," Harry hissed to himself, "Get up and try to get me."

And then, as if the dragon had heard him, its wings spread and it began to rise off the ground.

Harry waited until it was just far enough from the egg before he dove down on his broom.

Before the dragon even knew what he had done or where he had disappeared too, Harry was speeding towards the egg which was now unprotected.

Praying he could pull this off, he took his hands off his broom and as he swooped down next to the ground he grabbed the egg, quickly tucked it under his arm and speed back up towards the sky and out of the enclosure.

The moment he was truly safe the noise of the crowd hit him. They were all cheering for him.

Harry saw the dragon keepers rush out into the enclosure and subdue the dragon before he flew down and landed in the enclosure.

He dismounted his broom to see McGonagall rushing towards him with Sirius and Remus just behind her.

"That was excellent Potter!" McGonagall cried, "You had the fastest time of all the champions!"

Harry smiled and opened his mouth to respond but he was cut off as he felt someone lift him high into the air.

Sirius had flung him high into the air and then caught him and hugged him tightly.

Harry looked into his godfather's eyes and saw the sheer relief and joy along with the lines still embedded in his forehead from worry.

"You were absolutely brilliant Pup," Sirius whispered the words before placing Harry back on the ground.

"Very, very good Harry," Remus smiled.

And then it was if everything that had just happened hit Sirius like a ton of bricks.

"You're okay right?" He asked his face full of concern as he knelt before Harry and quickly felt him over, "You didn't get hurt did you?"

"I didn't get hurt," Harry shook his head.

Sirius' concerned face broke into a soft smile. "You really do amaze me Harry James Potter and I want you to know I'm lucky to have you in my life."

Harry's face blushed slightly, but not at the fact that Remus and McGonagall were witnessing this scene, but at his godfather's words.

"I'm lucky too," Harry replied softly, "Real lucky."

**TBC...**


	55. Chapter 55

**Author's Note: I love this! I am completely and totally in the writing zone here ya'll! I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I am almost done this story and I know exactly where I am going with it and now I just want to write, write, write:)**

**As always thank you all so much for all the reviews, adds, emails. I swear I have the best readers ever! Enjoy this chapter...I tried to make it a long one.**

**Miranda**

* * *

It was well after supper when Harry and Hermione finally returned to the Gryffindor common room.

After they had left the enclosed area of the task they had gone back to Remus' office and enjoyed a wonderful dinner with Sirius and Remus as they all celebrated Harry's success with the first task.

Harry had enjoyed all of his godfather's praise of course but he was shocked by it as well. He knew Sirius had promised that he wouldn't get angry about his competing but he had been sure that he would have at least been scolded for his daring drop to the ground that nearly got him set on fire and if not for that he had been sure Sirius would be raging about pulling him out of Hogwarts once more but he hadn't been anything but overly happy and splendid the entire meal.

Harry hadn't given much thought to what his classmates must have thought about the first task and so when he walked into the common room to be met by cheers and yells of congratulations he was shocked to say the very least.

On every table there were mountains of cakes and butterbeer. Harry couldn't believe how loud his friends were being in their joy over his success.

He proudly held the golden egg over his head as they continued to cheer and Harry couldn't help but notice that although Ron wasn't cheering he was smiling.

"Have you opened it yet?" Lee Jordan asked in an excited voice.

Harry shook his head, honestly he had completely forgotten that he was supposed to open the egg, he had completely forgotten that there was another task, only a month away.

"Well go on!" George said loudly, "Let's see what's inside!"

"He's supposed to work it out on his own," Hermione noted, "It's the rules."

"I was supposed to learn how to get past the dragon on my own too," Harry muttered so only Hermione could hear and in response she smiled a guilty smile.

"Go on open it," Fred nodded.

Harry looked down at the egg in his hands and ran his fingers along the groove that ran all the way around it carefully opening the egg.

It was completely empty inside but the moment he opened it the most horrible noise imaginable wailed through the room.

"Shut it!" Ginny yelled her hands covering her ears.

"What was that?" Hermione asked as Harry slammed the egg shut, "It sounded like someone being tortured."

"Maybe you'll have to fight the Cruciatus Curse," Neville said his face as white as a sheet.

"Don't be mental," Fred replied, "That would be completely illegal."

"Completely," George added as he handed Harry a glass of butterbeer.

* * *

It was nearly one in the morning when Harry finally retreated up to his bed. He was exhausted, all the stress from the previous weeks and the work from the tournament seemed to have finally caught up to him and all he wanted to do was collapse into bed and sleep in for as long as he could.

But the moment he fell onto his bed he heard the door to the bedroom open once more.

"Um Harry."

Harry sighed as he sat back up.

There was Ron, standing in the doorway, looking completely guilty.

"What?" The word came out harsher than Harry would have liked.

"Whoever put your name in the goblet I reckon they were trying to kill you." He said the words in a very serious voice and under any other circumstances Harry probably would have laughed at he's friend's demeanor.

"Oh you've finally caught on have you?" Harry asked in a cold voice. "Took you long enough!

"About that I'm sor…"

"I'm tired and I don't want to hear it," Harry replied as he lied back down and rolled over.

He could hear Ron still standing behind him and for a few moments he expected the red head to continue talking but then he heard him move and the door shut once more and Harry rolled over to see Ron gone.

He rolled back over feeling a mixture of anger and guilt. Ron had apologized…that was all he had wanted for the past few days so why hadn't he just forgiven him? Somewhere in the back of his mind he remembered Sirius once telling him about how no one is perfect, how everyone makes mistakes, how sometimes you have to be the bigger person. It was those words running through his head that made him want to get out of bed and go find Ron but he was tired and Ron had been a complete prat and he wasn't ready to just let that go and so instead he closed his eyes and allowed sleep to take over his mind.

* * *

"How are you holding up Padfoot?" Remus asked just moments after Harry and Hermione left for their common room.

Sirius sighed loudly as he ran a hand through his hair, "I want very much to go find my godson and remove him from this school this very instant."

"You did an excellent job of hiding that."

"Did I have a choice?" Sirius asked. "I promised him I wouldn't get angry. I promised him I wouldn't pull him out unless something strange occurred. I have to tell you though Remus when he was nearly engulfed in flames today it took every fiber of my being to resist walking right out onto that field and demand he come out of the sky so that I floo him home that very instant."

Remus nodded softly as he poured two glasses of firewhisky and handed one to his friend. "I felt very much the same way."

"I can't help but feel that this is all a very horrible idea. I am allowing my godson to compete in a tournament that is in a sense putting his life in danger with every task and yet I am constantly reminding him and when I have to reprimanding him for doing just that. Am I sending him mixed messages Moony? I can't help but think that the next time he is in a situation where he needs to make a decision to get help or run headlong into trouble he is going to think back on this tournament and the fact that I gave my permission and make the wrong decision." Sirius paused for a moment taking a swig of his firewhisky before he continued. "You know Harry isn't perfect. He can be unruly, he can have quite the attitude at times, he can disobey when he knows damn well he shouldn't but all that can be excused…however his habit of putting his life in danger…I really, truly felt like I had made some headway with that and now I go and allow him to do something like this…I am messing up here Moony I know I am."

Remus sighed softly as he took a long drink from his glass. He could see Sirius' concern and he felt for his friend but he couldn't help but think that Sirius was, at the moment, forgetting how well he knew his godson and how much influence he had on the boy's life.

"Padfoot no," Remus spoke softly, "I can see your concern, I honestly can but you know Harry...you honestly think for one moment that everything you have taught him, everything you have worked on with him, every word you have spoken to the boy, who looks up to you immensely, is going to be forgotten over this tournament?"

Remus paused waiting for a response but Sirius merely shrugged.

"I have said it in the past and I will say it again…your godson loves and respects you Sirius and I do not for one moment feel that Harry will run into danger feeling that you simply don't care because you let him compete." Remus paused for a moment a small smile dancing at the corner of his mouth, "I saw that child's face when you took him home after the Chamber incident…Harry isn't stupid and I don't think he would care to relieve that night for all the chocolate frogs and Quidditch magazines in the world. You have accomplished everything one could ask of you when it comes to Harry Padfoot…he is loved and it shows in everything he does and honestly I think he would rather face Voldemort himself than upset you and I think you know I am right."

"Thank you Moony," Sirius said softly as he sipped his drink, "I think I needed to hear that."

"Perhaps have Harry come stay with you overnight or for the weekend…talk to him about all of this and you'll see…he knows."

"Perhaps I will, I do have to take him shopping anyway."

* * *

"Potter! Will you pay attention!" Professor McGonagall's voice was irritated and Harry's head immediately snapped up.

He hadn't meant to be ignoring her but when he had awoken that morning he instantly noticed that Ron was already gone and his bed looked as though it had never been slept in and then he wasn't at breakfast or their morning class or lunch and now he still wasn't in class. When he had asked Hermione about it she had told him that Ginny had told her that Ron had complained of not feeling well and he was in the hospital wing. And now in less than an hour he was going to Diagon Ally with Sirius though he had absolutely no idea why. He had thought about bringing the egg along with him but had decided against it. After all he had a whole month until the next task and he didn't want to think about it just yet. But regardless with everything else going on it wasn't his fault his thoughts were on other things and not her class.

"Now that I have everyone's attention I have an announcement to make."

She paused for a moment and Harry eyed up Hermione who shrugged in response, the announcement was news to her as well.

"The Triwizard Ball is approaching which is part of the tradition of the tournament and an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests. Now every student is invited to attend, dress robes will be worn and the ball will take place on the evening of February the 14th."

The bell rang at that moment and the class quickly gathered their things.

"Potter, a word if you please."

Harry sighed, he was sure she was going to scold him for daydreaming in class.

Once the rest of the class had gone McGonagall cleared her throat and spoke.

"Potter, the champions and their partners…"

"What partners?" Harry asked.

"You're partners for the Ball Potter, you're dance partners," she explained.

Harry felt his stomach drop at these words.

"I don't dance," he quickly shook his head, "I doubt I'll even go to the ball."

"Oh yes you do and oh yes you will," McGonagall replied, "The champions are required to go and traditionally the champions and their partners open the ball with a dance."

"I'm not dancing."

"It is a tradition," McGonagall spoke firmly, "You are a Hogwarts champion not to mention a Gryffindor champion and you will do what is expected of you as a representative of this school. So make sure you get yourself a partner."

"But Professor I don't…"

"You heard me Potter," McGonagall cut him off in a stern way that ended the conversation.

* * *

"I can't believe you are making me do this," Harry said in a pathetic voice.

"Making you?" Sirius couldn't help but chuckle. "Might I remind you Pup that this tournament was all your idea and it hardly my fault if this is what goes along with it."

He stepped back as he surveyed his godson. The two were in a dressing room at Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions, Harry standing on a stool and in his opinion looking absolutely ridiculous.

"They're so stuffy," Harry complained, "And dressy."

"You would think they are called dress robes or something wouldn't you?" Sirius laughed.

"And you are enjoying this!" Harry almost stamped his foot.

"Forgive me Pup, but I am," Sirius nodded, "And I think you look just fine in them, brilliant even."

"This whole ball is dumb! I can't dance!" Harry complained, "And I have to ask a girl!"

"The horror," Sirius chuckled as he surveyed his godson once more.

"You're being completely unsympathetic about this," Harry noted in an annoyed voice.

"Am I?" Sirius asked with a smile, "You can hop down and take them off now."

Harry sighed as he hopped off the stool and quickly ripped off the dress robes and handed them to his godfather as he adjusted his school shirt.

"I can't ask a girl to this ball," Harry said in a serious voice.

"Of course you can, just find a girl you fancy and ask away."

"You make it sound so easy," Harry replied as he followed his godfather out of the dressing room.

"Well it certainly isn't as hard as getting past a dragon and you accomplished that."

"It feels harder."

"I promise you it isn't," Sirius smiled kindly, "We'll talk about it more later…now would you care to get some ice cream before we head home?"

Harry nodded, "Okay...but I still think you are being completely un-cool making me do this."

"You're catching on now," Sirius smiled, "I am completely un-cool, I think that happened right around the time I became a parent."

* * *

The two sat for quite awhile in Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour enjoying their ice cream before Harry brought up the subject of the ball once more.

"I don't know who to ask."

"Well who is Ron going to ask?"

Harry shrugged softly.

"You two aren't still fighting are you?" Sirius asked.

Harry nodded as he ate the last spoonful of his ice cream.

"I saw him at the task yesterday, he was cheering you on, I would have thought that after that he would have talked to you, apologized maybe."

"He didn't." Harry spoke the words before he had time to think about it and when his brain registered what he had said he couldn't understand why he had just lied to his godfather.

"That's too bad," Sirius said in a soft voice, "I would have thought that after yesterday he would have seen he was in the wrong."

Harry shrugged uncomfortably as Sirius waived a witch over so he could pay the bill.

"We should head home soon, it's getting late in the day and we've just completely ruined our supper," Sirius smiled, "But I think we have time to stop and look around in Gambol & Japes if you'd like?"

"Really?"

"Really," Sirius replied, "But after that we really need to get home."

* * *

It was almost two hours later as Harry and Sirius were sitting in the living room on the couch, facing each other and Harry couldn't help but notice that his godfather seemed nervous or something which was weird because he had been fine all afternoon. Well up until they were about to head home and then he suddenly got weird…nervous…as if he was dreading getting home or something.

The moment they stepped into the living room he had asked Harry to sit with him on the couch so they could talk and Harry was curious as to what about.

"I want to talk to you about the tournament…about the things you have to do in the tournament."

_So Sirius is mad_, Harry thought.

"I'm sorry," Harry said quickly, "I didn't mean to make you worry like that it was just that when the dragon…"

"You have absolutely no reason to apologize," Sirius cut his godson off, "I'm not mad Pup, I promise you I'm not. I understand that you had to do the things you did and I'm not the slightest bit cross about it."

Sirius sighed as relief and confusion flooded Harry's face.

"Just…just let me try and find the right words okay?" Sirius asked softly.

Harry nodded once.

"I know…I know that you know what the rules are…keep the cheekiness to a minimum, don't lie…that sort of thing?"

Harry nodded feeling a pang of guilt at the lie he had told earlier in the day.

"And I know you are aware of the biggest rule and the consequences."

"Not to put my life in danger," Harry said immediately, "I know Sirius."

"I know you do but I can't help but wonder if my allowing you to complete in this tournament is sending you mixed signals."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked the confusion there once more.

"What I mean is that I understand that in doing this tournament each task is putting your life in danger and I am giving you permission to do so, I suppose I am just worried that in the future when this tournament is over you'll misunderstand what you should do if you find yourself in a situation where you life could be in danger."

"Sirius no," Harry shook his head as he looked his godfather in the eye, "I get it…I really do. This is special circumstances."

"Exactly," Sirius nodded as he felt some of the worry that had been weighing him down released. "So we don't need to discuss how important it is to always go for help, to trust the people who love you and what the consequences will be if you don't?"

Harry shook his head, "No I know, this tournament is just a tournament. I would never really try and get past a dragon you'd whack me for sure!"

"It's very likely I would," Sirius chuckled relieved that Remus had been right and his godson in fact understood. And then a feeling of dread filled his body before he spoke once more. "Is that the reason you listen? Because you're afraid?"

"Yeah," Harry answered immediately.

Sirius felt a horrible feeling take over his stomach. He knew that some fear was normal not to mention most likely a good deterrent to keep his godson out of trouble, but he certainly didn't like the idea of Harry fearing him and he didn't want him to do so.

Harry looked at his godfather's face and quickly realized what his godfather had meant and shook his head. "Not of you, I'm never afraid of you."

"Than of what...that I might punish you?"

Harry thought about that for a moment before he shook his head. Honestly, although he definitely didn't like being punished he didn't exactly fear it either.

"Well then of what Pup, explain please."

"I guess sometimes when I do dumb things...or say really dumb things I'm afraid of what it could do."

"What do you mean?"

Harry shrugged and Sirius sighed.

"No...we're not resorting to shrugging, talk to me Pup...this is important."

"I don't know," Harry replied softly, "I guess like the other day...when I said" He paused glancing at his godfather. "You know what I said."

Sirius nodded.

"I was afraid because I didn't want you to think I really meant it and I was afraid to come talk to you because I thought you wouldn't forgive me."

Sirius sighed softly as he ruffled his godson's hair. "I will always...always forgive you. There is nothing in this world you could do that would make me not forgive you. Remember that okay?"

Harry nodded, "Okay."

"But you weren't afraid that I might spank you for it?"

Harry shook his head honestly.

"You're sure?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah I'm sure, I mean I don't like when you do that but it doesn't scare me...at least not more than normal," Harry replied honestly. And he was being honest, he had never truly been afraid of his godfather but he couldn't deny that the threat of what could happen if he misbehaved kept him in line, at least most of the time.

"And you know you can come to me with anything right? You know you can talk to me about anything?"

"Yeah, I know," Harry smiled.

"And I want you to know that I really am proud of you Pup and not just for how well you did yesterday either...you really are a very kind; loving person and a loyal friend on top of that and those are very important characteristics to posses."

Harry nodded though he couldn't help the feeling of guilt that had crept into his mind at Sirius' description...a loyal friend.

"Thanks," Harry forced a small smile, "You're really brilliant too you know."

"Yes I know," Sirius chuckled, "Now why don't you head up to bed and I'll be up in a minute to say goodnight."

* * *

Harry was under his covers, his head on his pillow when Sirius walked into his room.

"So do you want to go back to Hogwarts tomorrow or are you staying for the weekend?" Sirius asked as he walked into his room.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I have some homework to do and Hermione was supposed to help me write an essay for potions."

"Well it's up to you Pup but you know Hermione is always welcome here as well."

"Okay," Harry smiled, "Maybe I'll see if she wants to come here but she might want to work in the library, she can be mental like that."

Sirius smiled as he leaned over his godson and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Sleep well Pup." With a flick of his wand the room darkened.

"Sirius," Harry said softly.

"Hmm?"

Harry looked up at his godfather's figure, outlined by the little light that was shining in from the hallway. "I lied."

"Did you now?" Sirius asked. "What about?"

Harry sighed as his godfather sat on the edge of the bed next to him.

"About Ron…he tried to apologize to me last night."

"Tried?" Sirius asked.

"Tried," Harry repeated, "I wouldn't let him…I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I don't know why I didn't."

"It's alright," Sirius said softly, "Your friendship with Ron is your business, not mine. However, if you want some advice I will say this…don't be so hard on him Pup, he's hasn't been very fair to you but no one is perfect and aside from recently he has been a pretty loyal friend to you."

"I know," Harry replied, "And I feel awful for it. He was in the hospital wing all day today…Ginny said he was saying his stomach hurt."

"And it just might," Sirius replied well aware that a fight with a friend could make your stomach hurt just as much if not more than a sickness could, "Perhaps tomorrow if you go to invite Hermione you should try and talk to him as well, maybe invite him along too."

"Yeah," Harry agreed through a yawn.

"It'll all work out, you'll see," Sirius smiled, "Now get some sleep Pup."

**TBC...**


	56. Chapter 56

**Author's Note: Seriously you guys you have my deepest apologies right now as I have been seriously slacking lately. I really am sorry to keep you all waiting so long things have been crazy and I am basically failing at life these days. However, enjoy this chapter and I'm off tomorrow so I'll be up for the next few hours working on the next one in hopes that it won't take quite so long to get it up.**

**And as always thanks for all the support.**

**Miranda**

* * *

The next morning Harry returned to Hogwarts to find Hermione and when he did he also found Ron, who was speaking with her, however when Harry approached he quickly stopped talking.

"Hey," Harry said as he approached the two.

Hermione smiled a small smile but it vanished as Ron leaned over and whispered into her ear.

She sighed loudly as she opened her mouth to speak, "Ron wants me to tell you that he told Fred, who told George, who told Neville?" She glanced at Ron with a questioning look and the red head nodded. "Who told Hagrid about the dragons."

"Huh?" Harry asked a confused look on his face.

"Ron told Fred, who told George," she began to repeat the words and then stopped becoming annoyed with the entire situation as she turned to face Ron. "I am not a bloody owl! Tell him yourself!"

The young witch then turned to face Harry still looking just as annoyed. "You are both being absolutely ridiculous! Now start talking to each other or I'm going to stop talking to both of you!"

"I made sure Hagrid knew about the dragons so he would tell you," Ron offered the words, "Charlie wrote me and told me he was coming and bringing them."

Harry nodded softly. "Thanks…I'm sorry I wouldn't let you say you were…"

"It's okay," Ron cut him off. "I'm sorry I was such a prat."

"It's okay," Harry nodded.

"Finally!" Hermione smiled brightly.

* * *

Less than an hour later the trio was sitting in the kitchen at Harry's house working on their essays for potions, though in all honesty Hermione was doing most of the work as she was writing while Ron and Harry paraphrased her words.

Sirius had smiled brightly when he saw Ron step through the floo behind Harry and Hermione though he had made no comments about the red head and his godson reuniting. Shortly after that he made them lunch and now he was sitting in the living room reading and leaving the three to do their homework.

"So did you figure out anything about the egg yet?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head. He hadn't really though about the egg much, after all he had time left before the next task.

"You should really try and figure it out," Hermione commented as she continued to write her essay, "The last thing you want is to be rushed trying to figure it out right before the next task."

"How am I supposed to do that? All it does is make a horrible screeching noise."

"Maybe if you looked in the library," Hermione pondered.

"What's he supposed to do, look up horrible screeching sounds and hope he finds something?" Ron asked.

"Well I don't know but it's better than doing nothing at all about it."

* * *

True to her word Hermione spent the entire following day, as well as every free moment the following week, buried behind a pile of books in the library though every time Harry or Ron asked she still didn't have any answers.

"We need to get into the restricted section," Hermione explained when Ron poked fun of her lack of answers. "I know there has to be something that could help us in there."

"We could use the cloak," Ron suggested.

"We wouldn't need to, all you need is a note of permission from a teacher and we could ask Professor Lupin," Hermione replied.

"I'll ask him," Harry nodded though he wasn't quite sure the answer to the egg was in the library, even in the restricted section.

* * *

Every moment that Harry and Ron didn't spent in class or trying to figure out the egg was spent discussing the upcoming ball. They had less than two weeks until the ball was to take place and neither of them had a date yet.

Harry was amazed at how many girls Hogwarts suddenly seemed to hold. They were everywhere! Giggling and whispering in the halls, shrieking with laughter as boys passed them, constantly talking about what they were going to wear to the ball.

"Why do they have to move in packs?" Harry asked Ron as a dozen or so girls walked past them giggling amongst themselves. 'How are you supposed to ask one when they are constantly surrounded by a million others?"

"Who are you going to ask then?" Ron asked.

Harry knew who he wanted to ask. Cho Chang was a year older than he was, she was very pretty, she was a very good Quidditch player, and she was also very popular. A few weeks ago he thought facing a dragon was the hardest task in the world but now with that completed and behind him, it seemed like this task far outweighed that one.

"Whoever you ask will go with you," Ron said, "You're a champion, you defeated a dragon. The girls are probably all praying you'll ask them or fighting over which one of them will ask you first."

Harry shrugged at his best friend. "None of them have yet."

However the following morning a Hufflepuff girl that Harry had never spoken to in the past asked him and without even taking a moment to think about it he declined causing her to walk off looking quite hurt and causing Ron and Seamus to taunt him about her all throughout History of Magic.

The following day two more girls asked him, a first year and a fifth year who towered over him and looked as though she wanted to knock him out when he declined.

"She was quite good looking," Ron commented when he finally stopped laughing.

"She was more than a foot taller than me; imagine how I would look dancing with her!"

* * *

On Tuesday after Defense class Harry asked for and received a note of permission from Remus so that he, Ron, and Hermione could go into the restricted section.

"No luck with the egg yet then?" Remus asked after handing over the note.

"No," Harry admitted, "Hermione has read practically every book she could and hasn't found anything about a screeching egg."

"Well by all means check the restricted section and then if you need to Sirius and I are around to help you know."

"I know," Harry nodded, "I'll probably take you up on the offer too but Hermione is convinced we'll find the answer in a book."

Remus smiled kindly, "She may be right you know, quite clever that one is."

* * *

It wasn't until several days later that Harry finally worked up the courage to ask Cho to the ball. He was walking down the hall when he saw her...alone for once...and took his opportunity.

"Err...Cho? Could I talk to you for a minute?"

She nodded as she smiled softly and Harry's stomach gave a weird lurch as though he was about to fall down a flight of stairs.

"Wangoballwime?"

"Sorry?" Cho asked.

"Do you...do you want to go to the ball with me?" Harry asked in a much slower voice as he felt his face blush on its own accord and mentally scolded himself for allowing it to do so.

"Oh!" Cho said as she also went red. "Oh Harry, I'm really sorry but I've already said I'll go with someone else." She did truly look sorry.

"Oh okay, no problem."

"I'm really sorry."

"No...no it's okay." He forced a small smile hoping to show her that there were no hard feelings.

Cho smiled a small smile back before opening her mouth to speak once more. "I have to get going." She said the words in a soft voice.

Harry nodded smiling once more before he turned and walked away.

"Fairy Wings," Harry said dully to the Fat Lady.

"Indeed it is!" She smiled brightly before she sprung forward allowing him to enter.

"Did you ask her?" Ron practically knocked him over as he walked into the common room.

Harry nodded miserably.

"She said no?"

"She already has a date," Harry replied as he flopped down onto the couch.

"I think we're the only ones that don't have bloody dates," Ron sighed as he flopped into an armchair, "Except Neville…guess who he asked?"

Harry raised an eyebrow in question.

"Hermione!"

"What?" Harry asked completely forgetting about Cho after hearing this startling news.

"I know!" Ron said. "He told me after Potions. He said she's always been really nice to him, helping him with homework and stuff but she turned him down…said she already had a date which is such a lie she probably just didn't want to go with Neville I mean who would?"

"Shut up!" Ginny yelled over from where she was sitting across the room. She had been reading but upon hearing her brother's words she had closed her book. "Don't laugh at him!"

Just then Hermione climbed through the portrait hole causing both Ron and Harry to dissolve into laughter.

"Where have you two been?" Hermione asked. "I've been looking all over for you and what is so funny?"

"They still don't have dates to the ball," Ginny replied in an annoyed voice which abruptly stopped the boys laughing.

"Thanks a lot Ginny," Ron said sourly and then his face changed drastically as if he was suddenly seeing Hermione in a whole new light, "Her Mione you're a girl!"

"Just noticed have you?" She asked and Harry clearly heard the anger in her voice.

"Well you can go to the ball with one of us!"

"No I can't," Hermione snapped.

"Oh come on," Ron said impatiently, "we need dates we're going to look really stupid if we haven't got any…"

"I can't go with one of you because I am already going with someone."

"No you aren't you just said that to get rid of Neville," Ron said.

"Oh did I?" Hermione asked in a dangerous tone, "Just because it's taken you all this time to notice doesn't mean that no one else has spotted that I'm a girl!"

"Okay, okay," Ron sighed, "we get it, you're a girl. Now will you go with one of us?"

"I've already told you!" Hermione said in an angry voice. "I'm going with someone else!"

And with that she stormed off towards the girls' dormitory.

"She's lying," Ron said as he watched her go.

"She's not," Ginny said quietly.

"Then who is she going with?" Ron asked.

"I'm not telling you, that's her business not mine."

"Right," Ron replied not sounding like he believed his sister at all, "This is getting ridiculous Gin you go with Harry and I'll just…"

"I can't," Ginny cut him off, "I have a date already."

"Who are you going with?" Ron asked.

"Dean Thomas," she replied casually.

Ron's mouth dropped open slightly at this news and Harry raised an eyebrow in shock.

"Don't make that face at me," Ginny replied, "He asked me and I said yes, that is all."

"You can't go with…"

"Yes I most certainly can," Ginny cut off her brother, "And now I am going to dinner."

And with that she got up and walked out through the portrait hole.

"What's gotten into them?" Ron demanded. "Have they all gone mental?"

Harry shrugged as Parvati and Lavender walked into the common room.

"Wait here," he said to his best mate before heading in their direction and walking straight up to them.

"Hi Harry," Parvati smiled.

"Hey," Harry smiled, "Will you go to the ball with me?"

Parvati immediately dissolved into a fit of giggles making Harry want to walk away without an answer but he forced himself to stay put until she stopped.

Finally she nodded smiling and blushing, "Yes I will."

"Thanks," Harry said in relief, "Lavender will you go with Ron?"

"She's going with Seamus," Parvati explained the two giggling even harder now.

"Can you think of anyone who would go with Ron?" he asked in a low voice so Ron wouldn't hear.

"What about Hermione?" Parvati asked.

"She's going with someone else."

Parvati looked shocked by this news. "With who?"

"Dunno…so what about Ron?"

"Well I suppose my sister might, Padma, she's in Ravenclaw. I'll ask her if you like."

"Yeah that would be great, let me know okay?"

And with that he walked back over to Ron feeling that this ball was a lot more trouble than it was worth and making a mental note to tell Sirius that he'd take a dragon over moody or giggling girls any day of the week.

**TBC...**


	57. Chapter 57

**Author's Note: This is what guilt does to me…two updates in one night: : ) I hope you all enjoy this chapter…you have my word that by Sunday I will update either this story or my other one. And as always thank you all so much for all the support.**

**Miranda**

* * *

"Alright I suppose I forgot about the giggling aspect of it all," Sirius admitted as he placed his godson's dinner on the table in front of him, "But it's over now Pup and you have a date, are you excited for tomorrow night?"

Harry shrugged, "Not really, it's just a ball…I'm more anxious for it to be over with."

"I suppose I remember that feeling," Sirius agreed as he took his seat, his own plate in his hand, across from his godson, "I reckon balls are more for girls, they get quite excited about them."

"And moody too, Hermione and Ginny aren't speaking to Ron."

"Neither of them are?" Sirius asked, "Do I even want to know why?"

"Ginny's going with Dean Thomas and I guess Ron is cross about it and Hermione is mad because Ron never noticed she's a girl." Harry explained before taking a bite of his mashed potatoes.

"What in Merlin's name did he think she was?" Sirius chuckled.

Harry shrugged. "It's complicated I guess."

"It sounds like it," Sirius smiled knowing very well exactly what Hermione was upset about it but choosing to keep his thoughts from his godson. In his opinion the boy had plenty going on without wondering whether his one best friend was developing feelings for the other. And besides weren't they a bit too young for such things? Merlin he hoped so though he was aware that girls tended to mature faster so he was hopeful he had at least a year or two before Harry brought home his first girlfriend. Still…

"So tell me about this lucky girl you are taking to the ball."

He was prying and he knew it but then was it prying if he just asked or was prying considered just pushing for more information than his godson was willing to give up?

"I hardly know her," Harry shrugged, "She's nice and she's a Gryffindor. I only asked her because everyone else already had a date."

"So you aren't dating her?"

Harry looked up at his godfather with a disgusted face.

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief before laughing loudly, "I'll take that face for a no."

* * *

The following evening Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville changed into their dress robes up in their dormitory, all of them looking very self conscious but none as much as Ron who surveyed himself in the long mirror with an appalled look on his face. Several times over the past few weeks Harry had entertained the idea of visiting his vault and buying Ron some new dress robes like his own but he knew his best mate and he knew that Ron's pride would never allow him to accept them.

When they headed downstairs the common room looked strange, full of people wearing different colors, instead of the usual mass of black. Parvati was waiting for Harry at the bottom of the stairs looking very pretty in a pink robe her dark hair which was usually hanging down her back sloppily was pulled into a sleek braid and Harry was relieved to find that she wasn't giggling.

"You uhhh you look nice," he said in an awkward voice.

"Thanks," she smiled and then turned to Ron, "Padma is going to meet us in the entrance hall."

"Right," Ron replied, "Where's Hermione?" He looked around the common room.

Parvati shrugged, "I haven't seen her…we should head down though."

Harry nodded in agreement though he really just wanted to stay in the common room for the rest of the night.

The entrance hall was packed with students too, all milling around waiting for eight o' clock when the doors to the Great Hall would be opened. Parvati found her sister and led Padma over to Harry and Ron.

"Hi," she greeted the two of them looking just as pretty as her sister did in a robe of bright turquoise.

"Hi," Ron replied not even bothering to look at her but rather glancing around the entrance hall.

"Where is Hermione?" he asked again.

Suddenly the oak doors to the Great Hall opened and everyone turned to look as the Durmstrang students entered with Professor Karkaroff. Krum was at the front of the party accompanied by a pretty girl in a light blue robe that Harry didn't know.

Then Professor McGonagall called out, "Champions over here please!"

Parvati smiled brightly at Harry as she looped her arm through his before turning to her sister and Ron, "See you in there."

Professor McGonagall looked quite unusual in bright red dress robes as she instructed the champions to wait off to the side of the entrance hall and allow all the others to enter before them as they were to enter the Great Hall in procession when the rest of the students sat down.

It was at this moment that Harry noticed that Cho was standing beside Cedric and immediately felt jealous take over his body as well as a great dislike for Cedric. Quickly he turned his head so he wouldn't have to speak to them. His eyes drifted over to Krum and his date his jaw dropping when he realized that the pretty girl in the blue robes was not only not unfamiliar to him, she was his best friend.

She had done something to her hair. It was no longer bushy but sleek and shiny and twisted up into some thing behind her head that Harry could only describe as elegant. And she was standing differently or maybe it was just the absence of the twenty or so books she was usually lugging around. And she was smiling, not her usual smile…a more nervous one but she was smiling none the less and she looked amazing.

"Hi Harry," she smiled when she spotted him, "Hi Parvati!"

Parvati's jaw nearly dropped to the floor when she realized that it was in fact Hermione Granger standing next to Krum and she wasn't the only one in shock when the doors to the Great Hall opened and they walked in Harry noticed almost every Hogwarts student staring at Hermione in shock and awe.

Harry followed the other champions towards the front of the Great Hall where a large round table was sitting waiting for them. Harry concentrated on not tripping over his own feet but Parvati seemed to be thouroughly enjoying herself smiling brightly at everyone and steering Harry around with such force that he felt as though he were a show dog on parade. He caught sight of Ron as he paced who was glaring at Hermione with narrowed eyes.

After what seemed like an eternity to Harry he and Parvati took their seats at the table and their supper appeared before them.

Harry couldn't help but wonder what on earth Hermione saw in Krum, after all she was smart….very smart and he hardly spoke. However when he glanced in their direction he couldn't help but notice that Krum was certainly talking now and very enthusiastically too.

For a moment Harry wished he would have sat closer to them so he could hear what they were talking about but Parvati quickly brought him away from those thoughts.

"So are you nervous about the next task?" She asked in what appeared to be a very interested voice.

Harry shrugged, "A little I suppose."

She smiled politely but seemed annoyed by his small answer.

Of course he could have said plenty more but then he hardly knew her and he wasn't one to spill his guts to people he hardly knew.

The rest of their meal was ate in silence.

When all the food had been consumed Dumbeldore stood and asked everyone to follow suit. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back against the walls, leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall.

Moments later a band, carrying their instruments with them walked onto the stage causing the majority of the females in the room to shriek in delight.

"The Weird Sisters!" Parvati shrieked happily.

Harry nodded as though he had known this and in reality he had heard of the band once or twice before but he couldn't recall ever hearing their music.

The lanterns in the room suddenly went out and Harry noticed all the champions and their partners approaching the center of the room.

"Come on!" Parvati hissed, "We're supposed to dance!"

Harry could hear his heart beating as he allowed Parvati to lead him onto the dance floor. He had meant to ask Sirius about dancing or swallow his pride and ask Hermione to teach him but he had run out of time and had never quite gotten the courage and now here he was.

Parvati seized his hands placing one around her waist and holding the other tightly in hers.

His eyes caught those of Remus who was standing by the other teachers and who quickly gave him an encouraging smile. He wanted to return the smile but he was too afraid that if he opened his mouth even an inch he would sick up right there in the middle of the dance floor in front of the entire school.

He should have faked sick and gone to the hospital wing after lunch, he should have gotten himself into some sort of small mischief and got sent home to Sirius, he should have flung himself off the bloody astronomy tower.

The music started and Harry forced himself to concentrate on his feet and noting else, the last thing he wanted was to fall flat on his face.

He was several moments into the dance before his mind relaxed and he admitted to himself that it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Parvati clearly had no problem leading him and his only main concern was not tripping over her and he was handling that quite nicely if he did say so himself.

A few seconds later he noticed others joining the champions on the dance floor and he felt himself breathe a sigh of relief after he shared a smile with Dean who was dancing a few feet away from him with Ginny.

Finally the song ended and Harry immediately let go of Parvati. "Let's go sit down okay?"

"Oh but this song is so good!" She replied as the Weird Sisters started a new, much faster, song.

"No, I really don't like it," Harry lied as he led her off the dance floor past Krum and Hermione who looked as though she was having the time of her life.

He led her over to where Ron and Padma were sitting grabbing himself a bottle of butterbeer on the way.

"How's it going?" He asked sitting next to Ron.

Ron didn't answer. He was glaring at Hermione on the dance floor. Padma was sitting next to him with her arms crossed, one foot jiggling to the music, throwing Ron a dirty look every now and again. Ron, however, was completely ignoring her.

Parvati sat down next to Harry, crossing her arms as well, and within moments she was asked to dance by a boy from Beauxbatons.

"You don't mind do you?" She asked.

"Huh?" Harry asked, he had been watching Cho and Cedric and honestly hadn't heard a word she had said.

"Oh never mind," Parvati snapped before she stood up and went off with the other boy and when the song ended she did not return.

A few songs later Hermione came over and sat down in Parvati's empty chair, her cheeks pink from dancing. "Hi," she greeted her friends.

"Hi," Harry replied. Ron did not answer.

"It's hot isn't it?" She asked fanning herself with her hand, "Viktor has just gone to get us some drinks."

Harry opened his mouth to reply but Ron beat him to it.

"Viktor?" He spat. "I'm surprised you aren't calling him Vick yet!"

"What's wrong with you?" Hermione asked confusion taking over her face.

"If you don't know I'm not going to tell you."

Hermione stared at him for a moment before turning her gaze to Harry who shrugged in reply.

"Ron what…."

"He's from Durmstrang!" Ron all but yelled. "He's competing against Hogwarts…against Harry! You are fraternizing with the enemy!"

Hermione's mouth fell open. "You can't be serious! **You** were the one who was all excited when he arrived here in the first place!"

"I suppose he really likes you then," Ron said in a hurtful voice.

"If you must know yes he does," Hermione replied, "He said…he said he's been interested in me since he got here but it took him awhile to work up the courage to speak to me."

"Yeah well that's his story."

"What is that supposed to mean?" There was no mistaking the hurt in Hermione's voice.

"It's obvious isn't it?" He is a champion and he isn't stupid he knows who you hang around with and after Harry did so well in the first task….he's just trying to get closer to Harry….get inside information on him…or get near enough to jinx him…"

Hermione looked as though Ron had slapped her in the face and when she spoke her voice quivered.

"For your information he has not asked me one single thing about Harry…"

"Then he knows how smart you are," Ron quickly changed his tack, "He probably figures you'll be able to help him with the egg."

"I'd never do that!" Hermione said the tears now rimming her eyes. "Never! How could you say something like that! I want Harry to win. Harry knows that, don't you Harry?"

Harry nodded quickly but again Ron spoke before he could.

"You've got a funny way of showing it."

"This whole tournament is supposed to be about making new friends and…."

"No!" Ron cut her off, "It's about winning!"

"Ron," Harry said quietly, "I haven't got a problem with Hermione coming with Krum…"

But Ron ignored Harry.

"Why don't you go find Vick I'm sure he's wondering where you are."

Hermione glared at Ron for a long moment, the tears still threatening to fall before she turned and walked away without a word.

"Are you going to ask me to dance at all?" Padma asked once Hermione was gone.

"No," Ron replied still glaring in the direction that Hermione had disappeared.

"Fine then!" She snapped before she stood up and walked over to where her sister was surrounded by Beauxbatons boys.

"Let's go for a walk," Harry suggested and surprisingly Ron nodded in agreement.

Pretending they wanted more drinks, Harry and Ron edged around the dance floor and slipped out into the entrance hall. The front doors to the castle were open and for the first time Harry noticed that the grounds had been transformed into some sort of garden with fairy's fluttering around, giving off their light. Quickly he and Ron made their way down the front stairs, every corner they turned found another couple occupying a bench. He and Ron set off alone but they had only gone a short way when they heard an unpleasantly familiar voice.

"I don't see what the fuss is about Igor."

Harry held up a hand to warn Ron to remain quiet and judged by his best mate's large eyes that he understood.

"Severus, you cannot pretend that this isn't happening!" Karkaroff's voice was hushed as if he didn't want to be overheard, "It's been getting clearer and clearer for months."

"Then run," Snape's voice said curtly, "I'll make your excuses, I, however, am remaining at Hogwarts."

Suddenly Snape and Karkaroff rounded the corner.

"And what are you two doing?" Snape snarled.

"Walking," Harry replied shortly.

"Then continue doing so." Snape hissed before he brushed past them, Karkaroff hurrying behind him.

"What's got him all worried?" Ron asked as the two continued walking.

"And since when are they friends?" Harry added.

The ball was near over when Harry and Ron finally made their way back into the Great Hall. Harry immediately noticed Cho and Cedric dancing and it gave him a strong desire to kick something.

When the Weird Sisters finished playing at midnight, everyone gave them a last long round of applause before they began heading back into the entrance hall and to their dormitories.

Out in the entrance hall Harry and Ron saw Hermione saying goodnight to Krum before she gave Ron a very cold look and then swept past him up the staircase without speaking. Harry and Ron began to follow her but halfway up the staircase Harry heard someone call his name.

Turning he saw Cedric standing at the bottom of the stairs, Cho standing a few feet behind him obviously waiting for him to walk her to her dormitory.

"Yeah?" Harry asked coldly as Cedric ran up the stairs to meet him.

Cedric gave Ron a look obviously letting him know to continue on his way and after giving him an annoyed look Ron did just that.

"Look I owe you one," Cedric said.

Harry raised an eyebrow at him.

"Because of the dragons and all," Cedric explained.

"Oh…don't worry about it," Harry replied.

"No," Cedric shook his head, "I owe you one…your egg does it wail?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded suddenly forgetting that he was annoyed with Cedric.

"Take a bath okay?"

"Huh?"

"Take a bath," Cedric repeated once more, "And take your egg with you and just uh mull things over in the hot water."

Harry stared at him.

"Tell you what…the prefects' bathroom on the fourth floor the password is 'minty fresh' use that one."

"Err okay."

Cedric smiled once more before he turned and hurried back down to Cho.

Moments later Harry walked into the Griffyndor common room. A big part of him wanted to go to Remus and floo home and tell Sirius about the ball and Hermione and Ron and Snape and Karkaroff and the egg but he was exhausted and all he wanted was his bed, Sirius would have to wait for the morning.

However it was clear by the row he walked in on that going straight to his bed wasn't going to be an option.

Ron and Hermione were mere inches apart, both their faces red with anger and frustration, both screaming at each other.

"Well if you don't like it then you know the solution don't you?" Hermione yelled. Her hair was coming undone and Harry couldn't help but think that he had never seen her looking so sad.

"What's that?" Ron yelled back at her.

"The next time there is a ball, ask me before someone else does and not just as a bloody last resort!"

Ron opened his mouth to yell once more but before he could Hermione turned, made a horrible sobbing noise, and rushed up the stairs to the girl's dormitory.

Ron turned to Harry looking completely put off muttering something about her missing the point before he formed a complete sentence, "She is completely gone mental!"

Harry didn't say anything. He wanted to tell Ron exactly what he thought and exactly how wrong he was acting but he liked being on speaking terms with his best mate far too much to do that so instead he shrugged and headed up to his dormitory knowing he'd be asleep moments after his head touched his pillow.

**TBC...**


	58. Chapter 58

**Author's Note: Thanks so much for all the feedback and support it's much appreciated! I wanted to get this chapter up tonight as I have a pretty busy day tomorrow but tomorrow night or Monday I promise I'll answer all the emails and reviews from the previous two chapters.**

**Enjoy this one and expect the next update this week as this story is starting to wrap up.**

**Miranda**

* * *

Fortunately the next day was a Saturday. Harry awoke early to find Ron still snoring in his bed and quickly went down to the Great Hall and ate some breakfast before he walked to Remus' office and went home to see Sirius.

Sirius appeared to be still half asleep when he stepped into the living room but woke up quickly wanting to hear all the details about the previous night.

"And now I guess they're having a row," Harry finished explaining the situation between his two best friends.

"I'm sure they'll sort things out quite quickly…it sounds to me as if Ron may want to take the time to apologize."

Harry nodded in agreement, "Yeah I'm not going to tell him that though."

"Well I don't suppose it's your place to." Sirius replied before sipping his morning tea.

"Oh and hey do you know anything about Karkaroff?" Harry asked changing the subject without warning.

"Such as?"

"I guess him and Snape are friends, me and Ron heard them talking last night and he sounded nervous or something, kept saying something was getting clearer and then Snape told him to run if he wanted to."

"Is that all you heard?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah I think that's all…Snape said he was staying at Hogwarts…he didn't sound nervous. What do you think it's about Sirius?"

Sirius shook his head slowly, "I'm not sure but thank you for letting me know about it I'll be sure to bring it to the attention of the right people and in the meantime stay away from Karkaroff if possible…don't go looking for an adventure Harry understood?"

"Sirius I'm not going to…"

"Understood?" Sirius cut him off in a no nonsense voice.

"Understood," Harry nodded.

* * *

It was after lunch when Harry returned to the castle and he was happily surprised when he walked into the Gryffindor common room to find Ron and Hermione sitting together at a round table with piles of books around them. Harry couldn't help but smile when he saw this scene. Ron Weasley on a Saturday afternoon sitting in the common room surrounded by a pile of books and actually looking as though he wasn't miserable as he pushed a book aside and pulled another off of the top of the pile…clearly this was his penance for the way he had acted the night before.

"Where have you been?" Ron asked, "We've been looking up eggs for hours now."

"I went home to see Sirius, explain to him about what we heard…did you tell her about it?"

Ron nodded as he pulled a large book off the top of the pile and flipped back to the index.

"Did Sirius have any ideas on what they could have been talking about?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head. "No," he admitted.

"We're not having much luck either," Hermione admitted, "There is plenty about eggs but nothing about one that practically screams when you open it, golden or not."

"Cedric said I should take a bath with it."

Hermione nearly dropped the book she was holding when she heard this.

"When did he say that? Why didn't you tell us?"

"Just last night," Harry replied, "You two seemed preoccupied."

Ron's face blushed at the reminder of the night before but Hermione didn't seem to mind at all.

"Then you have to go get the egg, you have to go bathe with it. What did he say exactly?"

"Nothing just that I should use the prefect's bathroom on the fourth floor, he gave me the password for it and he said I should mull things over in the hot water."

"Go do it!" Hermione nearly shrieked.

"He could have just been messing with me. I mean after all he did take Cho to the ball and…"

"Did it ever occur to either of you that you simply should have asked the girl you wanted to take before someone else did? Honestly? As if Cedric knew you wanted to take her and purposely went out of his way to spoil your evening. And didn't you tell him about the dragons? Is it so far fetched that he would return the favor?"

"He did say that," Harry admitted, "That he owed me one."

"Then go get the egg and take a bath with it!"

"It couldn't hurt to try mate," Ron added.

Harry sighed as he nodded. Now probably was as good of a time as any. He had thought about waiting until the middle of the night and using his cloak but the last thing he needed was to be caught. Of course he didn't think his godfather would be cross with him for it. He had told Sirius about the egg and about what Cedric had said and he knew Sirius would understand his need to bathe with the egg in the middle of the night but he had been caught last year by Filch out of bed after midnight and it wasn't an experience he cared to re-live anytime soon. Still he didn't want any interruptions either.

"Can you two stand outside the bathroom, make sure no one comes in?"

"Of course we can," Hermione nodded, "Now go get the egg."

Moments later the three were walking towards the fourth floor prefects' bathroom, Harry and his egg hidden under his invisibility cloak. Of course they couldn't really get into trouble for what they were doing, aside from him being in the prefects' bathroom but Harry had no desire for half the school to see him walking the halls, his egg in his hands.

They stopped in front of the large doors and Harry leaned in muttering the password. Slowly the door creaked open.

"I won't be too long okay?"

"Take your time," Hermione muttered, "We'll be fine."

Once in the bathroom Harry closed the door behind him before taking off his cloak. He looked around the bathroom and was immediately impressed. The bathtub was the size of a swimming pool and looked just as deep in spots. He noticed the fluffy white towels folded at one side and walked towards them. He pulled a towel off the top of the pile and quickly undressed leaving his clothes, the egg, and the towel in a heap together before he slid into the water.

It was so deep Harry could hardly touch the bottom and so he quickly settled himself onto a sort of ledge seat that ran around the perimeter of the bathtub. The water still came up to nearly his chin but it would have to do. Reaching back he grabbed the egg and bringing it in front of him he slowly opened it. The screeching wailed out of it once more and if anything sounded less like words now that it was echoing off the walls.

"I'd try putting it in the water if I were you," a voice spoke causing Harry to nearly drop the egg as he jumped in surprise.

Harry quickly looked around the room to spot Myrtle sitting on top of a large painting of a mermaid on a rock.

"Myrtle!" He nearly yelled. "I'm not wearing any clothes!"

Of course he was under the water and the bubbles that had come out of the taps with the water were so thick that it hardly mattered but Harry couldn't help but think that she had been there for quite some time.

"I turned my head when you got in."

Harry felt himself blush involuntarily.

"You haven't been to visit me in ages you know."

"You live in the girl's lavatory, I'm not supposed to be in there," Harry replied.

"That didn't use to stop you," Myrtle replied miserably.

"I got into a lot of trouble for that," Harry admitted, "So I figured I should probably stay out of that bathroom."

"Oh," Myrtle said in a sad voice, "Well anyway you need to put that egg under water that's what the other boy did."

"You spied on Cedric too?"

Myrtle nodded. "I didn't come speak to him though and it took him ages to figure out what to do with his egg, I was sure he was close to crying a few times."

Harry couldn't help but smile slightly at this before he pushed the egg under the water and slowly opened it. It didn't seem to be wailing any longer but rather making a soft melody, a song.

"You need to put your head under too!" Myrtle told him. "Hurry up!"

Quickly Harry took a deep breath and dunked his head under the water and instantly heard a song being sung to him by a chorus of weird voices.

It took several tries of Harry opening the egg and going under water to hear the song before he had the whole thing memorized and even then it didn't make much sense to him.

"So I've got to look for people who can't use their voices above the ground?" Harry said in confusion, "That doesn't make any sense."

"It makes perfect sense," Myrtle smiled, "But Cedric thought it didn't make any too, he stayed in the bath for nearly an hour trying to figure it out."

"Someone who can't use their voice above ground…so maybe they can talk or sing underwater?"

"The youngest champion may be the smartest," Myrtle smiled.

"So what lives in the lake besides the giant squid?" Harry asked.

"All sorts of different species," Myrtle said, "I go down there sometimes."

Harry looked up at the giant portrait Myrtle was sitting on top of.

"Are there merpeople in the lake?"

"Very good!" Myrtle clapped her hands in delight.

"That's it then…the second task is to go and find the merpeople in the lake and…"

But then Harry realized what he was saying. If the riddle was right they were going to take something he would miss and he would have an hour to look for it. He could swim of course but he had been down by the lake loads of times and never once seen a merperson so they had to live deep down at the bottom. How was he supposed to hold his breath for an hour?

The next task was less than seven days away. He needed to talk to Sirius and Hermione and Remus and Ron and he needed to do it now.

"Hey Myrtle, turn around again okay? I need to get dressed."

Myrtle sighed in annoyance but turned around in the air and Harry quickly wrapped himself in a towel, drying himself in seconds before throwing his clothes back on and grabbing his egg and his cloak.

"Thanks for all your help and I'll visit you soon okay?"

"Promises, promises," Myrtle sighed as Harry left the bathroom.

* * *

"Are you sure that's what the egg said?" Remus asked for what seemed to be the millionth time.

The trio plus Remus and Sirius were in Remus' office discussing the egg and what it had said or rather sang when Harry had opened it under water.

"I'm positive," Harry nodded, "I'm going to have to go into the lake to get something of mine that I'll want back and I'm only going to have an hour to find it."

"I don't like this," Sirius spoke in a low voice, "I don't like this at all. That lake is dangerous under normal circumstances."

"But Sirius..."

"No Harry I don't like this and nothing you may say will be able to change that. You have no idea the horrible things that lie under that water."

"Fred went in his first year on a dare and almost ended up in the hospital wing when something grabbed his foot and tried to pull him in deeper...mum nearly..."

"That's not helpful," Hermione whispered sharply causing Ron to stop speaking mid sentence.

"Harry I'm sorry but..."

"You said you wouldn't make me stop unless something weird happened," Harry cut off his godfather sensing exactly where Sirius was going.

"And you don't find the conversation you overheard last night to be weird?"

"Well yes," Harry admitted, "But that has nothing to do with me or the tournament!"

"Not yet," Sirius noted before he shook his head, "You can't go into that lake, you can't I just can't allow it."

"But Sirius you said..."

"I don't give a damn what I said, I am the adult here and I can change my mind when I see fit!"

"Now Padfoot," Remus spoke gently, "I'm sure there is a logical solution to all of this."

"There is a perfectly logical solution, he isn't doing it."

"This isn't nearly as bad as getting past the dragon was," Harry argued, "And we'll figure something out, there has to be a spell or something…"

"It's worse! At least with the dragon you were in clear view the entire time, if something went wrong you could be helped or saved but under water in the middle of the blasted lake...no one will even realize if you are in trouble!"

Sirius had lost his patience and Harry knew it and so he kept his mouth shut. He wasn't draft and he wasn't about to get himself into trouble with Ron and Hermione standing right beside him. Still he kept the annoyed look on his face.

"Maybe there is some sort of spell that could keep Harry safe," Hermione said softly, "I'm sure if I go to the library and just look."

"I think that's an excellent idea," Remus smiled, "Why don't you three head off to the library and see what you can find."

* * *

The moment the door closed behind them Sirius spoke.

"I know exactly what you are trying to do here Remus and it isn't going to work. Allowing him to swim in that lake is far too dangerous."

"I'm not disagreeing with you Padfoot, it is dangerous however if a spell can be found that will work I'm sure you can see…"

"Don't be so sure of anything," Sirius cut him off, "You have known my feelings about this whole tournament from the very start and so has Harry."

"And you also promised your godson that you would allow him to compete albeit anything weird happening and I'm sure you don't want to go back on your promise," Remus spoke.

"Of course I don't," Sirius sighed running a hand through his long hair, "But I don't want to have to dredge the lake to find him either."

"I'm sure the three of them will be able to find a suitable spell to help Harry succeed at the task."

Sirius sighed once more, "They had better look hard because if he doesn't have one he isn't competing."

* * *

Four days had passed and in that time Sirius had made it perfectly clear to Harry that if he didn't have a plan he wasn't going to be competing. He had also offered his help in finding a solution but Harry had politely declined.

Anytime that wasn't spent in class, the trio spent in the library looking through book after book of spells. They had already been through the majority of the restricted section and so far with no luck of finding anything that would help Harry search the bottom of the lake for an hour.

"I still don't understand why we can't just go ask Sirius and Remus to help us," Ron said as he pushed a large book out of his way and pulled another one, just as large, off the top of the pile they had formed.

"You heard Sirius," Harry replied, "He doesn't even want me doing this."

"Yeah but he said if you have a plan you can, he has offered to help," Ron argued.

"I want to do this without his help."

"Why?"

"I just do," Harry replied searching for the words to explain it better, "I just think that if this is only the second task and it's this hard imagine what the third one will be like and if we figure this one out on our own then maybe he won't say no to the next one."

"We'll figure it out," Hermione replied in a positive tone as she flipped through a small book of spells.

"I just don't reckon it can be done," Ron replied a few moments later, "We've been looking forever and so far nothing. The closet thing we've found was that spell to dry up water and that was just for puddles not nearly powerful enough to use on an entire lake."

"It has to be possible," Hermione replied, "They wouldn't make a task that was impossible to do."

"Maybe you're just supposed to go down to the lake, stick your head in, and yell at the merpeople to give you back whatever they took."

"That's too easy," Harry replied as Hermione nodded in agreement with him.

"There has to be a way to do it," Hermione said.

"I wonder how McGonagall turns into a cat," Ron muttered more to himself than his friends.

"She's an animagus," Hermione replied, "Remember she told us that last year."

"I wish I was one….a fish or something," Harry said.

"Or a frog," Ron replied, "That would make this a lot easier."

"It takes years to become an animagus, and then you have to register yourself with the Improper Use of Magic Office. They have to know what animal you become and your makings so you can't abuse it and…"

"Hermione I was kidding," Harry yawned, "I know I can't do it in just a few days."

"It would be brilliant though wouldn't it?" Ron replied.

"Yeah," Harry nodded in agreement.

"What if we just made some Polyjuice potion and…"

"It takes too long to brew," Harry cut him off.

"This is impossible," Ron sighed.

"Nothing is impossible," Hermione replied as she pulled another large book off the top of the pile and buried her nose in it.

**TBC...**


	59. Chapter 59

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to get up. I had it done two days ago, went to save it to word and some box popped up that said, 'file corrupt' and the whole chapter disappeared so needless to say I wasn't a happy girl and I had to walk away for awhile before I attempted to re-write it.**

**On a happier note, thank you all so much for all the support, it's so very appreciated! I'm pretty busy over the next few days but hopefully I'll have the next chapter up early next week.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The days passed far too quickly for Harry's liking and before he knew it the task was less than twenty four hours away and he, Ron, and Hermione were hauled up in the library still without any idea as to how exactly the task was going to be managed.

"I still think the best bet is to just stick your head in the lake and demand they give you back whatever they took," Ron yawned loudly.

It was close to midnight and any prospects of finding a solution to the problem were starting to look extremely dim.

Harry sighed as he flipped through the large book of spells that Hermione had found in the restricted section.

"What did you tell Sirius?" Hermione asked curiously as she pulled another book off a shelf.

Harry sighed softly. He had been hoping his friends wouldn't ask that question but he probably should have known better.

"That we figured it out…that we found a spell that would work…that it's all under control," he admitted.

"Have you gone completely mental?" Hermione asked her face holding a disapproving look, "And just what are you going to do tomorrow when the task starts and there is no plan?"

"That's why we have to find a spell that will work," Harry replied forcing back a yawn.

"Sirius is going to go mental," Ron noted, "Completely mental."

Harry starred down at the book that was open on the table in front of him. He knew his friends were right. He knew it had been absolutely stupid at best to lie to his godfather about the task. He was honestly surprised that Sirius had even fallen for it but it appeared he had. When Harry had talked to him the day before through the mirror his godfather had simply nodded and smiled a grim smile when Harry had declared success in figuring out how he was going to accomplish the task. Then again, Harry had rushed off quickly after that, giving Sirius very little time to ask for any proof.

"And these books are of no help at all," Hermione declared shocking both boys. Hermione never talked badly about books. "Who on earth wants to make their nose hairs grown into ringlets?"

"It'd be a talking point anyway wouldn't it?" Fred Weasley's voice said.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked up to see Fred emerge from behind a bookshelf.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked.

"Looking for you, McGonagall wants you and Hermione."

"Why?" Hermione asked looking surprised.

"Dunno," Fred admitted, "She looked a bit upset though. I'm supposed to deliver the two of you two her office. What have you done anyway? Brewing more Polyjuice?"

Ron made a face at his brother as Hermione quickly shook her head.

Harry felt his stomach drop slightly. Had McGonagall noticed how much they had been helping him when he was supposed to be figuring out the task on his own?

"We'll meet you back in the common room," Hermione told him as she got up, "Bring as many books as you can okay?"

Harry nodded sadly as he watched them go.

* * *

It was just past midnight when Madam Prince finally shooed Harry out of the library and he suspected she felt bad about doing so. It was obvious she was aware of why he was there so late and he was pretty sure that the look on his face told her it was obvious he still didn't have any answers.

When he got back to the common room he sat for at least an hour going through the books he had brought back with him but he still didn't have any answers and his friends still hadn't returned.

_It's over_, he said to himself, _you can't do it. You'll just have to go down to the lake in the morning and tell the judges._

He imagined himself explaining to the judges that he couldn't do the task. He pictured Dumbledore's disappointed face and Malfoy with his POTTER STINKS badge. And Sirius…he would have to admit to his lie and deal with his godfather's disappointment in his behavior. He'd have to look at that horrible face Sirius made whenever he did some extremely disappointing and know that once again he had put that face there.

_NO!_ His brain screamed at him, _you cannot give up now!_

Without giving his actions a second thought, Harry pushed the useless books to the side and ran up the stairs to his dormitory. He would have to get his cloak and just spend the night in the library and keep looking until he found an answer. He would have to. There was no way he was going to just give up the tournament and more importantly there was no way he was going to admit his lie to Sirius.

Without thinking about how loud he was being he threw open his trunk in the darkness of the dormitory and began ripping though his things, thinking only of the time he was wasting.

"Harry?" Neville asked in a sleepy voice, "What are you doing?"

"Go back to bed;" Harry replied still searching through his trunk, "I just have to get something."

"You're sneaking out aren't you?" Neville asked in a worried voice, "And if you get caught we'll lose tons of points."

"Go back to bed," Harry repeated as he finally found his cloak and pulling out of his trunk he closed it and then headed for the door.

"Harry you can't!" Neville said as he rolled out of bed and began to follow the boy, "Where are you going anyway? To look for Ron?"

"To the library," Harry replied as he made his way down the stairs.

"Is that where Ron and Hermione are?"

"No," Harry replied becoming frustrated with Neville, "They are with McGonagall I think. Now go back to bed."

"Why are you going to the library then?" Neville asked.

The two were now standing in the common room and Harry's frustration with the situation and the time he was wasting was growing by the second.

Neville's eyes roamed over to the stack of books on the small round table and he quickly looked back at Harry raising an eyebrow.

"You haven't figured it out yet have you?"

"Of course," Harry started and then he realized just how un-convincing he sounded and shook his head, "No so I have to get to the library and look some things up."

"You should get some sleep," Neville replied, "The task is early in the morning."

"I can't," Harry replied in a voice that was practically a yell, "Unless of course you know a way that I can breathe underwater for an hour Neville. If you know a solution than I can go right back upstairs and go to sleep but I'm sure you don't!"

"Gillyweed," Neville spoke calmly as if he hadn't just been yelled at.

"Huh?"

"You need some gillyweed," Neville said as he yawned, "It'll let you breathe underwater; it gives you gills and webbed hands and feet like a fish."

"Gillyweed," Harry repeated, "You're sure?"

"Positive," Neville nodded, "Don't know where you're gonna get it though. Professor Snape probably has some in his private storage but I think he's the only one who would."

A plan quickly developed in Harry's mind though he wasn't completely sure Neville would go for it.

"Do you know what it looks like?" Harry asked quickly.

"Yeah there's a picture of it in our Herbology book, it looks kinda like a bunch of rat tails all bunched up."

"Okay Neville listen I know you're against sneaking out but I have to get some of this or I'm going to have to quit the tournament tomorrow and I really don't want to do that so maybe you could come with me, under my cloak, and we could go get some of this gillyweed." Harry carefully worded his case as he watched Neville's face go white.

"You want to try and steal from Professor Snape," Neville asked in a hushed voice his face looked as if Voldemort himself had just appeared in the common room.

"It's real important Neville and I promise we won't get caught, it's the middle of the night I'm sure Snape is asleep."

"I don't know Harry; I want to help you but…"

"Neville I'll have to quit the tournament."

Neville sighed loudly as he nodded, "Okay I'll do it but we really can't get caught, my gram will kill me and…."

"We won't," Harry cut him off quickly as he crossed the room to Neville's side and draped the cloak over both of them, "We're invisible now…there's no way we'll get caught."

* * *

Slowly and carefully Harry and Neville made their way towards the dungeons. Neville was breathing rapidly and several times Harry had considered telling him that he had to breathe quieter but he figured Neville was pretty nervous and so he was biting his tongue and silently praying that Filch didn't appear out of nowhere. In retrospect he figured he probably should have brought along the map as well but it was too late to go back for it now.

Harry could understand Neville's nervousness but he didn't share in it. Of course he didn't want to get caught. He was pretty sure Sirius would understand his need to acquire some gillyweed but he wasn't sure that his godfather would agree with his stealing it and of course if Snape or Filch caught them they were done for. However, his want for the gillyweed and his desire to stay in the tournament was outweighing his fear at the moment and so surprisingly his heart was beating at a normal rate and his breathing was slow and steady.

Harry felt Neville suck in his breath as they approached Snape's private closet and taking a deep breath Harry pulled out his wand and quietly whispered the word_, _"alohomora." Before he carefully pushed the door open.

"Okay," he whispered to Neville, "You said it looks like a bunch of rat tails or something?"

Neville nodded softly.

"Alright if anyone shows up, save yourself…just walk slowly and quietly back to the tower got it?"

Another nod.

Harry stepped out from under the cloak leaving it entirely on Neville as he quickly and quietly began searching the closet. Several times he held up a jar containing a weird looking substance to Neville only to hear the boy whisper the word no.

Finally after what felt like ages he held up a jar and heard Neville say yes loud and clear.

Smiling Harry opened the jar and took a handful of the disgusting looking substance. He had to admit, Neville had been accurate in describing it, grey rat tails was exactly what it looked like. Quickly he shoved it into his pocket and began to return the lid to the jar.

He couldn't help the large smile that was plastered on his face. Just a few hours before the tournament and he had a solution, a brilliant one at that.

"Thievery Potter?"

The voice cut through Harry's joy instantly. There, standing in the doorway of the closet, looking absolutely furious was Snape.

"One would think that you would have been bright enough to steal from my private stock under the cover of your blessed cloak but I guess these days you think of yourself as far to slick for such trivial precautions."

"I uh…"

"You will follow me to my office at once," Snape hissed.

Harry had to hand it to Neville, for all his heavy breathing, he had gone as quiet as could be when Snape had arrived and as far as Harry was concerned the quicker he got out of that closet and down the hall to Snape's office the better off it was for Neville.

Carefully Harry walked out of the small closet, praying he wouldn't bump into Neville and make his presence known.

The second he was in the hallway Snape grabbed him by his upper arm and began to drag him down the hall.

"Ow," Harry couldn't help but mutter.

"Of all the rules you have broken since you step foot into this school this is by far the worst! I went to the headmaster months ago when you and your blasted friends robbed my private stock and I was told that the three of you would never stoop to stealing and now here I find you caught in the act."

Snape was yelling now and Harry couldn't help but think that if he kept it up half the castle would be woken up in a few more moments.

"Sir I…"

"I don't want to hear your vile excuses," Snape hissed as he opened the door to his office and literally pushed Harry into the room.

"Not only will I be contacting your godfather first thing in the morning to make him aware of your actions but you will be serving detention with me every night for a month that is if you aren't expelled after I speak to the headmaster about this! Now what in Merlin's name did you take?"

"I…"

Sirius wasn't going to be happy about this and as angry as Snape looked at the moment Harry couldn't help but think that being expelled may just be preferable over a month's worth of detention with the livid man.

"Turn out your pockets Potter," Snape spat the words.

There was no point in denying anything and so Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the handful of gillyweed handing it to Snape.

"Gillyweed Potter," Snape said as he snatched it out of the boy's hand, "What in Merlin's name could you possibly want with…"

But then he stopped speaking, a peculiar look taking over his face.

"This is for tomorrow isn't it Potter?"

"Yes Sir," Harry replied in a soft voice.

Harry watched as the angry face slowly began to vanish before it re-appeared, though not nearly as angry as it was originally.

"Stealing is not acceptable behavior Potter. Did it ever occur to you after the last task that perhaps if you asked me for some gillyweed I would honor your request?"

"No Sir," Harry replied mentally kicking himself for not thinking to do just that.

"As I said I will be notifying your godfather of your behavior tonight as it cannot simply be overlooked."

Harry nodded softly, "Yes Sir."

"However perhaps a months worth of detention is a bit excessive, a simple essay on the consequences of stealing should be efficient."

"Sir?" Harry asked in a confused voice.

"You may keep the gillyweed," Snape said as he held his hand out to Harry.

Harry stood there completely dumbfounded. Had Snape really just gone back on the detentions?

"Do not stand there gawking at me like an insolent child Potter take the gillyweed."

Quickly Harry reached out and took the substance from Snape before the man could change his mind.

"I'll expect the essay on my desk in the beginning of your next potions class, am I understood?"

"Yes Sir," Harry nodded quickly.

"Now might I suggest you get yourself to bed before the sun comes up and you are made to do the task with absolutely no sleep."

Harry nodded as he quickly began to make his way out of the room.

"And Potter?"

"Sir?" Harry turned around.

"If I ever catch you stealing from me again I will see to it that you serve a detention with me every night until you graduate. Am. I. understood?"

"Yes Sir," Harry nodded quickly, "Thank you Sir."

"Very well," Snape said in a flat voice as Harry quickly made his way out of the room.

Harry's legs could not move quickly enough to get him back to the Gryffindor tower in a time to his liking. He woke up the fat lady much to her dismay and ran through the portrait once she opened for him, almost knocking Neville over as he did.

"Harry!" Neville shrieked, "I thought Professor Snape took you to Professor Dumbledore. I thought you were expelled!"

"No," Harry shook his head happily, "And I have the gillyweed. He let me keep the gillyweed!"

**TBC...**


	60. Chapter 60

**Author's Note: Thank you for all the support as always! Enjoy this one, I tried to make it a little longer. I'll update as soon as I possibly can!**

**Miranda**

* * *

Harry awoke late the next morning and quickly changed into his swimming trunks. It wasn't exactly swimming weather outside but he wasn't sure what else to wear. After all he was going to be swimming and he certainly didn't want to attempt to do so with his school robes weighing him down.

Once he was changed he ran down to the common room to find it deserted aside from Neville who was sitting on a large armchair patiently waiting.

"Have you seen Ron or Hermione?" Harry asked as he headed towards the portrait, Neville now up and moving along side him.

"No," Neville shook his head, "Ginny was looking for Ron this morning too. I hope they aren't in trouble."

Harry nodded in agreement. The night before he had been worried that McGonagall had known just how much they had been helping him and that they were in trouble for that but now they had been gone for way too long for her to simply be lecturing them and Harry couldn't imagine they would get into much more trouble than a lecture.

Harry and Neville headed through the deserted castle and down the staircase.

"Everyone is already down at the lake," Neville explained.

Harry had already figured as much but he didn't say so.

"I was about to come wake you up when you came downstairs," Neville continued.

Harry nodded. His mind wasn't on where everyone else was, it was rested on one place and only one place.

"You're sure this gillyweed will work right?" Harry asked as he pushed open the heavy front door of the castle and stepped outside, Neville still beside him.

"Yeah…yeah I'm sure I can't believe Professor Snape let you keep it."

Harry honestly couldn't believe it either. Of course after Snape's tip before the last task he shouldn't have been all that surprised but still he had been caught stealing this time and that act alone should have made Snape chop him up for potion ingredients, not allow him to keep the stolen goods.

Harry was about to open his mouth and agree with Neville when he spotted Sirius and Remus a few feet ahead.

"Hey Neville, I'm sorry I gotta go talk to Sirius real quick alright?"

"Alright Harry," Neville smiled, "Good luck!"

"Thanks," Harry shouted behind him, already running towards his godfather.

"There you are!" Sirius smiled turning when he heard his godson yell, "I was beginning to think you were still sleeping."

"I just woke up," Harry admitted.

"Up late last night?" Remus asked.

The events of the previous night played out in Harry's mind, along with Snape's promise to tell Sirius all about it first thing in the morning, however, it was obvious but his godfather's cheerful demeanor that he hadn't been told yet.

It was at that moment that Harry considered beating Snape to it and telling Sirius himself. He knew his godfather wouldn't be happy but maybe his honesty about the situation would buy him a few points. And then Snape allowing him to keep the gillyweed and going back on the detentions crept into his mind and he decided there was a chance that Snape wouldn't even tell Sirius and if that was the case he certainly wasn't going to blab and rat himself out for no reason.

"I couldn't really sleep," Harry admitted, "Hey you haven't seen Ron or Hermione have you?"

"No," Remus spoke as Sirius shook his head, "Can't find your partners in crime?"

"They're with McGonagall I think," Harry shrugged as he, Sirius, and Remus began to make their way towards the lake.

"So what is your solution to this task?" Sirius asked suddenly his voice revealing a no-nonsense tone.

"Gillyweed," Harry replied mentally thanking Neville for the fact that he actually had something to say and wasn't at this moment admitting that he had no solution.

"That's quite a brilliant solution," Remus smiled approvingly.

"Neville came up with it," Harry admitted as they stopped by the edge of the lake, a few feet down from the other champions as well as Dumbeldore and Karkaroff.

"A quiet achiever that one is," Remus smiled, "Now please excuse me while I go find a seat, best of luck Harry."

"Thanks," Harry replied before looking up at his godfather.

Sirius sighed as he looked down at Harry, "I still don't like this you know."

"I know," Harry nodded.

"And don't mistake that as me not having faith in you or thinking that you are quite a brilliant wizard because that isn't it at all Pup."

"I know," Harry repeated once more.

"Okay," Sirius replied squatting down next to his godson so the two were eye to eye, "I want you to listen to me right now and I mean really listen."

"Okay," Harry nodded. Now that his godfather was face to face with him, he could see the worry etched in the man's face and he hated that it was there and even more that it was there because of him.

"This is nothing more than a contest, a silly one at that, and if anything and I mean anything starts to go wrong under that water I want you to think the hell with this blasted tournament and swim to the top as fast as you possibly can. You are far more important than any bloody tournament, understood?"

"Understood," Harry nodded, "And if anything is wrong I will, I promise."

Sirius sighed loudly as he leaned his body in towards Harry and placed a kiss on his forehead before pulling him in for a quick hug.

"I suspect I will have a full head of grey hair before this tournament is over."

"I'm sorry," Harry said softly as Sirius released him from his sudden embrace.

"Don't be sorry, just don't get hurt."

* * *

Moments later Sirius was sitting in the stands next to Remus as Dumbeldore began speaking.

"All our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely one hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three then, one…two…three!"

The whistle shrilled loudly in the cold, still air and the stands erupted with cheers and applause. Harry forced himself to ignore what the other champions were doing as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the handful of gillyweed, and stuffed it into his mouth before he began wadding out into the lake.

He was up to his waist and freezing cold as he chewed the gillyweed as hard and as fast as he could. It was disgusting in his mouth and when he was sure he couldn't take the taste of it any longer he swallowed hard and stood as he waited for something to happen.

Several moments passed and fear was beginning to take over Harry's body just as it had with the first task, what if the gillyweed didn't work? He had no other plan.

Then, without any warning, he felt as though someone had begun to suffocate him. He tried to take a breath but it made him feel lightheaded. Reaching his hand up to wrap around his throat he felt a large slit just beneath his ear. Frantically he felt the other side realizing there was one there as well…he had gills.

Without stopping to think he did the only thing that made sense, he flung himself into the icy cold water.

Underwater he took a deep breath and felt the oxygen return to his brain. Glancing at his hands he saw they were webbed and quickly he glanced back at his feet to see that they were as well.

The water was also no longer icy cold but quite pleasant and he could see surprisingly very clearly. Smiling to himself he swam deeper into the lake frantically looking around for whatever the merpeople might have taken from him.

It was at this moment that he considered that it might have been a good idea to check his trunk when he had woken up less than an hour ago because if they had taken something from it he surely would have realized but it was far too late to think about that now.

At the bottom of the lake, green weeds grew like a meadow of very overgrown grass. Harry was swimming along at quite a rapid speed wondering how much time had already passed when he felt something grab hold of his ankle.

Twisting around he saw a grindylow poking out of the weed, its long fingers clutched around Harry's leg, its fangs bared. Harry twisted and turned as he violently kicked his foot before eventually forcing the grindylow off of him and just in time for the moment he released himself several more grindylow's began to appear but Harry was already swimming rapidly away from them his heart racing.

Several moments later when he was sure he was safe his mind drifted to his godfather and the promise he had made him…did the grindylow's count as something going wrong?

"How are you getting on?"

Harry turned quickly, his heart nearly beating out of his chest to see Moaning Myrtle floating beside him.

"Myrtle!" Harry tried to shout but nothing came out of his mouth but a very large bubble.

Myrtle giggled at this. "You want to try over that way," she pointed, "I can't come with you...don't want anyone to know I helped you out…plus I don't like them much, they always chase me when I get too close."

Harry smiled in reply nodding to show her he understood before he quickly swam off in the direction she had pointed.

He swam for quite awhile, so long in fact, that he was beginning to wonder if Myrtle had just been messing with him, and then he began to hear the soft sounds of the song that had played in his egg.

Harry began to swim faster, once again wondering how much time had passed. He had to be closing in on an hour and he didn't even want to think about how Sirius would react if he stayed under the water much longer than the allotted hour.

And then in the distance he began to see merpeople swimming around. And just beyond them were more merpeople as well as a large stone mermaid on the ground and tied to the stone mermaid was Ron Hermione, Cho Chang, and a small girl that looked about eight years old. All four of them appeared to be in a deep sleep, their heads slumped on their shoulders, and a stream of bubbles emerging from their mouths.

It was obvious to Harry that Ron was his to save. Of course Hermione was his friend too but she was obviously there for Krum and then there was Cho who was obviously Cedric's which left the small girl for Fleur and by the looks of the girls long silvery hair there wasn't a doubt in Harry's ,mind that she was her sister.

Harry swam quickly towards Ron. He had expected the merpeople to try and stop him but they simply continued to swim around him. Harry pulled at the rope that was attached to the stone mermaid but it was thick and strong.

For a quick moment he panicked, wondering how he was ever going to get Ron free, and then he noticed the sharp rocks on the bottom of the lake floor.

Swimming quickly to the bottom he retrieved a rock and after several moments of hard work, he managed to break the rope and free Ron.

Ron floated a few inches above the stone mermaid and then remained stationary. Obviously Harry was going to have to pull him to the top of the lake.

Harry looked around quickly there was no sign of any of the other champions. Without giving it a second thought he turned back to Hermione and began to hack at her rope as well.

Several of the merpeople swam towards him at rapid speed and seized him.

"You take your own hostage," one of them said, "leave the others!"

"No!" Harry argued but only bubbles came out.

"You are only responsible for your friend," a merman yelled.

"She's my friend too!" Harry yelled back, "And I don't want any of them to die!"

But as every other time he had tried to speak underwater, only bubbles emerged.

"Take only your hostage," the first mermaid spoke once more.

Harry looked around hoping to see one of the other champions and was pleasantly surprised to see Cedric swimming towards him. He had an enormous bubble around his head which obviously allowed him to breath under water.

"Go!" Cedric mouthed looking panicked, "Fleur and Krum are coming!"

Harry watched Cedric pull a knife his wand out of his pocket and use it to release Cho before he swam up and out of sight. For a split second Harry wondered why he hadn't thought to use his own wand, which was resting in his pocket and then Krum appeared pulling him out of his thoughts.

Krum had apparently tried to transform into a shark. His head was that of a shark but from his waist down he was still very much human.

Harry watched as Krum bite Hermione's rope apart in one quick movement and grabbing her headed towards the surface.

Harry looked around hoping to see Fleur heading towards him but saw nothing. Harry's eyes roamed back over to the young girl who was still silently sleeping.

Without giving his actions a second thought he swam quickly to the lake's floor and retrieved a stone but before he could get to the little girl and merpeople began closing in around her.

"Get out of the way," Harry pleaded.

But the merpeople only laughed in response.

Quickly Harry whipped his wand out of his pocket pointing it at them and then suddenly there laughter stopped. Their eyes were all fixed upon Harry's wand and they looked scared.

"Move!" Harry shouted once more expecting them to ignore his demand but to his surprise they quickly scattered.

Harry darted towards the young girl and began hacking away at her rope and after several moments she was free.

Quickly he seized the little girl around the waist, grabbed Ron's arm and kicked off from the bottom.

Harry felt as if he was dragging two large heavy stones along with him as Ron and the little girl were slowing him down immensely. He was half way to the surface when he noticed the merpeople were beginning to swarm just below him, watching him struggle, and he began to panic.

Would they pull him back down if the hour ended? Did they eat humans?

Just as he could begin to see daylight above him, he became aware that breathing under the water was getting a lot harder. He could feel pain on the side of his neck and he was sure the gills were vanishing, and his feet were becoming harder and harder to kick making him very aware that he no longer had webbed feet.

He guessed he only had about ten feet left to go until he would reach the surface when he began to feel dizzy. He could no longer breath, he needed oxygen. He was picturing Sirius and telling himself that he had to make it, that he couldn't drown when he finally broke through the surface.

The minute the air hit their faces both Ron and the young girl opened their eyes. The stands had erupted in cheers but Harry was blocking them out for now. The young girl looked confused and scared but Ron was smiling.

"Cold isn't it?" He asked and then he spotted the young girl, "Why do you have her too?"

"Fleur didn't show up," Harry replied as he released his grip on Ron's arm allowing his friend to swim for himself.

"You didn't take it seriously did you?" Ron asked, "Dumbeldore wouldn't have let us die!"

"The song said…"

"It was just to make sure you got back in time, I hope you didn't waste too much time saving both of us."

Harry was annoyed by Ron's comment but kept his annoyance to himself, it was easy for Ron to say what he had, after all he had been asleep.

"Come on, help me with her, I don't think she can swim very well," Harry said.

Harry and Ron pulled the little girl through the water and back towards the edge of the lake.

Harry could see Madam Pomfrey fussing over Hermione, Krum, Cedric, and Cho while Madam Maxine tried to calm Fleur who was sobbing loudly.

Harry and Ron emerged from the water with the young girl as Fleur ran towards them.

"You saved her," she shrieked kissing Harry on the forehead and then Ron, "You saved her!"

Harry smiled as best he could before he felt someone seize him into a hug.

"Come here you!" Sirius' voice spoke and Harry hugged him back tightly.

"You are absolutely brilliant Harry James," Sirius whispered the words into Harry's wet, messy hair.

"He needs to take the potion at once," Madam Pomfrey's voice broke the moment.

Sirius released his godson and Harry was immediately wrapped into a large blanket and given a potion to drink that literally made steam come out of his ears.

Harry looked up to see the judges in a tight huddle and he wondered whether he would be in trouble for rescuing Fleur's sister.

"Harry!" Hermione shrieked as she jumped out of her blanket and rushed towards him, "You did it! You figured it out all on your own!"

Harry shook his head smiling causing Hermione to give him a questioning look.

"Neville," Harry spoke softly so the others wouldn't overhear.

Hermione smiled brightly as she nodded, "Brilliant."

"Wait till you hear the story," Harry smiled.

And just then Dumbeldore's voice echoed around the lake.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached a decision. The merpeople have informed us of exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake and we have decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions as follows…Fleur Delacour will be awarded twenty five points….Cedric was the first to return with his hostage though one minute late, therefore he will be awarded forty seven points…"

Harry's heart sank if Cedric had been a minute late he had to have been at least twenty minutes late.

"Viktor Krum, second to return with his hostage will be awarded forty points…Harry Potter was the last to return however the merpeople informed us that he was the first to reach the hostages and was merely late due to his determination to make sure they were all saved therefore we will award him forty five points."

Harry's heart leapt, he was now tied for first place with Cedric.

"The third and final task will take place on the first of May; the champions will be notified of what is coming exactly one month beforehand. Thank you for all your support of the champions."

The crowd erupted in cheers once more.

_It's over_, Harry thought to himself, _and I managed to survive._

The happiness that was taking over his body was amazing and then he looked up and through the crowd to spot Sirius…deep in a conversation with Snape.

**TBC...**


	61. Chapter 61

**Author's Note: As always thank you all so much for the support! I swear I have the best readers ever! I have a really busy few days coming up so I wanted to get this chapter up. I apologize for it being shorter and for the ending ;) I'm going to try my hardest to get a chapter up tomorrow but it may not happen so at the very latest mid next week. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Madam Pomfrey quickly swept up his godson wrapping him in a heavy fleece blanket and forcing a cup with steam coming off of it into his hands.

Judging from the look on his godson's face the potion must have been pretty vile but clearly it was doing the trick as steam literally poured from Harry's ears.

Sirius smiled to himself as he thought about the brilliant actions his godson had just displayed. Not only had he managed to compete well in the task but once again he had proven he was his mother's child, taking extra time to save the young girl.

Sirius had to admit he had been worried. When he had spoken to Harry briefly earlier in the week he had been pretty convinced that his godson wasn't being completely honest about having found a solution to the task but clearly he had misread Harry's demeanor. Not only had he come up with a solution but a brilliant one at that.

And then an idea formed in Sirius' head. It was Saturday, meaning there were no classes to be missed and his godson certainly deserved some sort of reward or rather celebration for the morning's actions. If he could speak to Dumbledore he was sure he could get permission to take his godson along with Ron and Hermione into Hogsmeade for lunch and if Harry wanted to invite anyone else than the more the merrier.

Sirius was quite pleased with his idea as he began to make his way through the crowd in search of the headmaster.

"A word if you will Sirius."

The dry voice sucked the smile right off of Sirius' face. He quickly turned around to find the owner of the voice standing behind him.

"Snape," Sirius said coldly.

"I need to speak to you about something that took place well after the designated curfew last night."

The moment Sirius heard the words he knew that obviously Harry had been caught in the halls in the middle of the night. He wasn't happy about it of course and he would have to remind his godson that roaming the halls in the middle of the night wasn't exactly safe these days but then again how many times had Sirius roamed the halls in the middle of the night himself when he was a student, and with James right beside him at that. Besides if Sirius knew Harry at all he was sure it had something to do with Ron and Hermione going missing, of course his godson would be worried about his friends and would go looking for him, that was the person he was and surely Sirius couldn't be angry at him for being who he was.

"If Harry was out roaming the halls I will speak to him about it," Sirius replied wanting nothing more than to end the conversation before he became annoyed with the greasy git in front of him.

"He was but there is much more to it than just that."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "Continue."

"He stole gillyweed from my private stock, I caught him myself. Now I realized that he was doing do to have the gillyweed for today and so I allowed him to keep it and refrained from sharing this with Dumbledore but I made him aware that I would be telling you as stealing is simply not acceptable behavior, even you must realize that."

Sirius resisted the urge to insult the overgrown bat standing in front of him and instead opted for a more mature route. "He admitted to stealing?"

"I've just told you I caught him red-handed and he did not deny stealing nor was he resistant in showing me what he stole."

"I'll speak to him about it," Sirius replied.

"The boy stole, thievery is not tolerated regardless of whether he is Dumbeldore's golden boy or not and I hardly think that a cuddle and a talking to will…."

"How I deal with my godson's misbehavior is none of your concern Severus," Sirius cut him off, "I appreciate you're allowing him to keep the gillyweed and I appreciate you're making me aware of his misbehavior… it will be dealt with, and now if you'll excuse me."

Before Snape had a chance to speak another word, Sirius turned and stalked off. The area around the lake was now almost completely deserted and Harry was no where in site. Not that it mattered, there would be no celebration lunch today.

* * *

Harry starred at Snape and his godfather talking. It was easy to tell by the look on Sirius' face what information Snape was sharing. Harry wanted to look away in the worst way. He wanted to strike up a conversation with someone, anyone, whoever was the nearest to him…but he couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away from Sirius and Snape, it was almost like watching a train wreck.

"Harry!" Hermione's voice shrieked in an exasperated tone.

"Hmm?" He tore his eyes away to find both Hermione and Ron standing by his side.

"I've been saying your name for forever now, are you okay? You seemed like you were in your own world."

"I'm fine," Harry nodded.

Ron's red head turned in the direction that Harry had been starring only seconds earlier. "What's Sirius talking to Snape about."

"What'd you want?" Harry asked Hermione ignoring Ron's question.

"We're heading back to the castle for lunch," Hermione replied, "Are you coming?"

Lunch.

The Great Hall.

It was safe, Harry decided quickly. Even if Sirius was furious with him at the moment Harry knew that never in a million years would his godfather embarrass him in the middle of the Great Hall. No, that wasn't his godfather's style. Besides he needed a few moment's with Ron and Hermione.

Harry nodded quickly standing up.

* * *

"So what did you do?" Ron asked as the three of them sat down at the Gryffindor table a few feet away from anyone else.

"What makes you think he's done something?"

"Come on Hermione," Ron replied, "Didn't you see the way he was looking at Sirius….what'd you do?" He asked Harry once more.

Quickly and quietly Harry rehashed the details of the previous night. As he did so Hermione's eyes grew huge but Ron seemed to have figured something along the lines of what happened because he hardly looked shocked.

"Did you honestly think Snape wouldn't rat you out?" Hermione asked, "I mean its Snape Harry."

"I know but I thought maybe after he went back on the detentions and he obviously didn't tell Dumbledore."

"No but of course he'd tell Sirius," Ron said, "That greasy git."

Harry nodded but said nothing. He didn't really agree with Ron's assessment of the situation but he wasn't about to say so.

"Harry should be expelled right now or at the very least serving detention for weeks, Snape just telling Sirius isn't all that bad," Hermione noted.

"Not all that bad?" Ron asked. "If my mum found out I stole from Snape I'd be dead. Be glad Sirius is here and he can't send you a howler."

It was as if Ron mentioning his name had summoned him from thin air because the moment the words left Ron's mouth, Harry spotted his godfather up at the staff table speaking quietly into Remus' ear.

Again, Harry wanted to look away. To pretend as if he hadn't noticed.

However, before he could do so his godfather looked up at him. The two starred into each other's eyes for a moment before Sirius raised an eyebrow in a disapproving fashion, as if to say, 'I'm well aware of what you've done.' Without warning Harry felt his face blush to the tips of his ears.

"If I were you I would avoid Sirius for as long as possible," Ron spoke through a mouth full of food obviously oblivious to Harry's red face, "Move to Egypt or something."

"Don't be mental Ron! I'm sure Sirius will understand if it's just explained to him," Hermione said, "I think you should go find him right after lunch and just explain what the situation was, I'm sure he'll understand completely."

"Your parents would understand why you lied and stole if it was you?" Ron asked in a disbelieving voice.

"Well umm…just go apologize," Hermione quickly changed her tune.

Harry nodded as he watched his godfather walk away from the staff table and out of the Great Hall.

"See he didn't come over here so obviously he isn't angry," Hermione reasoned.

Harry shook his head as Ron spoke. "Sirius would never do that, that's my mum's style, not Sirius'."

Harry nodded in agreement, slightly surprised at how well his best mate was getting to know his godfather.

"Well regardless, avoiding him won't make it better; it will only make it worse."

* * *

It had been two hours since lunch had ended. Harry had expected Remus to inform him that he was wanted home by his godfather but so far no one had said a word to him about it.

After lunch he, Ron, and Hermione had returned to the Gryffindor tower so Hermione could do some homework and Harry and Ron could play a game of chess.

Several people had congratulated Harry and on an even better note people were very interested in Ron's role in this tournament. Harry was happy his friend was getting his chance to share in the limelight and listened intently as Ron re-told the story of what had happened a few dozen times.

But now the common room was empty and quiet as Hermione read and Ron starred at the chess board concentrating on his next move.

"You're only going to make it worse you know," Hermione noted without bothering to look up from her book.

"How am I going to make it worse?" Ron questioned, "I am kicking his arse here."

"Not you! Harry!" Now she dropped the book onto her lap glaring at Ron with an annoyed look on her face.

"I'm going to go talk to him after this game," Harry replied.

It wasn't a lie. He really had decided just a few moments prior to her comment that the moment the game was finished he was going to go down to Remus' office and floo himself home to face the music, so to speak. He wasn't stupid he knew he had to go talk to Sirius. He knew it had to be dealt with.

"Don't admit to anything until you know what he knows," Ron offered his advice as he took his move.

Hermione shook her head, her face clearly showed that she thought Ron's advice was silly but for once she kept her thoughts to herself as she buried her nose into her book once more.

* * *

The game ended with Ron winning as per usual. Harry quickly slipped on his trainers and made his way through the castle receiving several shouts of congratulations along the way.

He walked through the defense classroom knocking once on Remus' door. When there was no answer he knocked once more before pushing the heavy door open to find the room empty.

Quickly he picked up a quill and a piece of parchment from Remus' desk and wrote a note informing his favorite professor of where he had gone and then before saying a quick, silent prayer that he wasn't about to be grounded for the rest of his life, he picked up a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace.

Sirius was sitting in his armchair, reading a book. He didn't look up as Harry stepped out of the floo.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," Sirius spoke still not looking up at his godson.

"You were?" Harry asked, Ron's advice ringing in his ears.

"Mmhmm," Sirius hummed as he turned a page, still not looking up.

"Well I never saw you after Madam Pomfrey took me so I just figured I should come home since I never said bye to you…."

"You're digging yourself in deeper and deeper you know," Sirius noted in a calm voice.

Harry sighed as he sat down on the edge of the couch, "Can I at least explain?"

"I believe I always give you a chance to explain yourself," Sirius replied as he closed his book and looked up to meet his godson's eyes, "But first I want to ask you something and I expect an honest answer."

"Okay," Harry replied in a soft voice.

"Several days ago I spoke to you and I asked you if you had a solution for today's task and you told me you did…was that the truth."

Harry opened his mouth fully prepared to tell a small lie and say that it was absolutely the truth but his godfather cut him off.

"And before you answer might I remind you that telling a lie about something will only help you to find yourself in more trouble than you already are."

Harry's face fell as he shook his head. "No, it wasn't the truth."

"I figured as much," Sirius replied in a calm voice, "Alright, explain to me what happened."

"We…I couldn't find a solution to the task and so I lied to you because I didn't want you to know that I couldn't find one and last night I found out that gillyweed would work so I went to Snape's private stock and took some but he caught me." It wasn't until after the words left Harry's mouth that he realized he really hadn't offered an explanation but rather a re-cap of the events and then he realized there really wasn't an explanation. He had lied and he had stolen.

"Forget the fact that you lied to me," Sirius said, "It's not okay and I know you are aware of that but had that been your only offense it most likely could have been overlooked but you stole Harry. Did it never occur to you that had you come to me or even Remus and told us of your need for gillyweed that we could have helped you acquire some?"

"No," Harry admitted.

'_And why hadn't it,'_ his brain screamed, _'Why do you never think of the obvious!'_

Sirius sighed as he set his book on the end table next to his chair. "I'm assuming that the reason you were so adamant in making sure I wasn't aware that you didn't have a solution is because you were afraid I wouldn't allow you to compete without a solution that I deemed acceptable."

Harry nodded as he looked down at his knees. His stomach was in his throat.

"I'm not sure how many times we have to go over this but problems aren't yours to solve on your own Harry. Haven't you realized that nine times out of ten when you find yourself in trouble it's because you refuse to allow myself or another adult help you when you are in too deep?"

"I've realized," Harry muttered, "I just never think of it until after the fact."

Sirius ran a hair through his hair as he eyed up his godson. The child was perched on the edge of the couch obviously quite anxious about what was to come and it was more than obvious by the way he refused to look anywhere but his rather un-interesting knees that he was expecting the ultimate punishment for his crimes. And honestly Sirius wasn't sure he shouldn't dole out such a punishment after all he had stole from a professor as well as lied and Sirius was quite certain that if he had never brought up the boy's offenses that Harry would have never brought them up himself.

Still, he had also had quite the victorious morning and the last thing Sirius wanted to do was spoil his entire day by punishing him.

Once again, Sirius wished James and Lily were dealing with their son at the present moment and that Sirius would merely hear the story later that evening after Harry had been dealt with. He would have come by after supper for a quick visit, the days events would have been shared by James over a cup of tea, and then Sirius would have headed up the stairs to Harry's room pretending to be stern but really congratulating his godson for stealing from the greasy git and for performing so well in the task.

Sadly though James and Lily were not there and Sirius was…as was the child sitting on the couch across the room from him looking rather guilty.

"Go to your room please," Sirius spoke the words still unsure of why he was even sending his godson away. After all he hadn't decided on a punishment and if he was simply going to ground his godson or take away a privilege there was no reason to send his godson to his room first.

Harry however seemed to be expecting this because he was off the couch and half way up the stairs before Sirius' brain even processed what he had just said.

It wasn't like Harry to steal, Sirius knew that. His godson wasn't the type to commit such a crime but he did so. But then again, he obviously needed the gillyweed if he felt the need to go to such extremes to get it. That was just it though…there was no need for him to go to such extremes. Not when he could have asked him, or Remus, or even Snape himself for what he needed.

He needed some clarity. He needed to know what James would have done in this situation.

And then as if James himself had forced it upon him, a memory came rushing into Sirius' mind and before he could stop himself he quickly climbed the stairs to his godson's room.

**TBC...**


	62. Chapter 62

**Author's Note: I apologize for this chapter being so short...I just really wanted to devot an entire chapter just to this particular subject. I am hoping to have the next chapter up in a day or so but I can't make any promises as I am currently going crazy getting ready to leave for college for the first time. **

**Enjoy this chapter and feel free to tell me what you love...or hate!**

* * *

February 1st 1973

The thundered sounded loudly and seconds later lightning illuminated the dark dormitory. As if on cue, the young boy shot up out of what had been a restless sleep. His heart felt as if it was beating out of his chest and he was literally sitting in a pool of sweat.

"Sirius?"

His eyes roamed to the bed closest to his to find his best mate sitting up wide awake, looking worried.

"Are you okay?" His friend asked, his dark hair a mess with bed head, "You were talking in your sleep."

Sirius felt his face blush on its own accord.

"I'm fine," he lied as he quickly lied back down and pulled the heavy quilt up around his neck.

"You didn't sound fine," he pressed on.

Normally this was one of the things Sirius loved about his best mate, his persistence and his constant need to care about his friends in a way that made Sirius feel as he had never felt before. Never in his life did he feel that someone cared about him the way James did but at this moment it was the last thing he wanted. He wanted someone more like his parents someone who would ignore what had just happened and go back to sleep.

"I'm fine," he repeated once more forcing a yawn out with the words as if to convince his friend that he was far too tired to discuss this any longer.

"You're lying," James spoke in a matter of fact voice.

That was another thing he usually loved about James. He would call you out when he needed to but he did so in a way that you couldn't possibly get mad at. He had a way of expressing through the tone of his voice that although he was calling you out on your poor behavior, he was really only doing so because he cared and although Sirius wanted nothing more than to tell him to bugger off he couldn't help but feel guilty for lying to his friend…James just had the power to make him feel that way.

Without saying a word Sirius pushed the heavy quilt off of him, along with the sheet that had been bunched up under it. He swung his legs off the side of his four post bed and walked out of the room and down the stairs to the common room. He knew James would follow, no words needed to be spoken.

That was the other great thing about his best friend, if he needed him, he was there and no words had to be spoken to clarify this…it was just the way it was.

"It was a dream about my mother," Sirius spoke once he and James were both sitting on the large couch in front of the fireplace.

James nodded once. He knew that Sirius' home life was poor at best. He also knew that for weeks now Sirius had been having these bad dreams. He wasn't about to press him though, if he wanted to talk he could and Sirius knew that.

"Christmas…the Christmas holidays weren't very good," Sirius said as he starred into the empty dark fireplace, "My parents really aren't happy with the way I am turning out."

"The way you are turning out?" James questioned.

"I'm acting like a Gryffindor I guess, as opposed to a pure blood." Sirius explained in the simplest way he could.

James nodded in understanding though he didn't really understand it and he gathered that he never really would.

"I don't think I'm going to go back there anymore," Sirius stated still starring off into the fireplace.

"Back home?"

Sirius nodded once.

"You can come live at my house, my parents wouldn't care in the least," James offered.

Sirius' mouth formed a small smile though it quickly vanished. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"Don't be sorry, it's no big deal," James replied immediately, and then paused for a moment before he spoke again, "You're parents they don't…I mean your mum doesn't…"

"My mother only hurts people with her words," Sirius cut him off sensing exactly where this conversation was going. He could feel his stomach churning at the fear of what question would come next.

"And your dad?"

Sirius shook his head softly as he blinked back hot tears. "My father isn't a kind man." He hoped those words would be enough. He prayed James would drop it, that his friend wouldn't make him go into details.

James nodded and sat in silence as Sirius silently thanked him for being such a good friend.

"Do you want to go back to sleep?" James finally broke the silence as a loud boom of thunder sounded outside.

Sirius shook his head. "I can't sleep; I've barely slept since the holidays…every time I close my eyes…."

"You need a sleeping draught."

"And what are we going to do just whip one up this instant?" Sirius asked with a bit more attitude then he had intended. He was tired and frustrated with himself for allowing his mother to get to him in this way and embarrassed that he had just shared all that he had with James but he hadn't meant to answer his friend in such a rude way.

"No," James replied standing up, "I'm going to go get some, and I'll be back."

"What? How? And from where?"

"Slughorn's got to have some in his private stock; I'll just borrow some for you."

"If you get caught…"

"I won't," James cut him off, "I never do. Just wait here okay?"

"I'll come with you," Sirius offered immediately.

James shook his head and opened his mouth to argue but Sirius cut him off.

"I'm not going to let you risk getting into trouble for me…at least not without me beside you."

James smiled at these words before he nodded in agreement.

"Should we go get your cloak?"

"We can't, Remus was almost awake when I followed you down here and if he wakes up you know he'll try and talk us out of this and get all weird about us breaking the rules."

Sirius chuckled softly at James' assessment of Remus. It was true, if Remus woke up it would take another hour just to convince him to let them go and then another thirty minutes to convince him not to be upset with them over what they were doing.

"Guess we'll just have to be extra careful then," Sirius smiled as they walked towards the portrait.

James nodded as he smiled in return, "Guess so."

The two Gryffindors crept down the halls careful to be as quiet as they possibly could.

The door to Slughorn's closet creaked as James pushed it open. Carefully the two friends slipped inside. It took all of a moment to locate the sleeping draught as it was clearly labeled and upon seeing it James quickly grabbed it and the two of them quietly exited the small room pushing the door shut behind them.

They weren't more than ten feet away when Dumbledore appeared out of nowhere. His eyes locked on the bottle in James' hands.

"Unfortunately, each of your parents will have to be notified," Dumbledore spoke and though he did sound stern, the sadness he felt over having to tell on them shown clearly in his eyes. And Sirius immediately took note that Dumbledore didn't ask for the potion, nor did he ask why they needed it…though Sirius suspected he knew…he always knew.

James and Sirius raced back to their dormitory and after discussing what had just happened and re-living their adventure through words, Sirius swallowed a small amount of the potion and slept better than he had in weeks.

The following morning Sirius received a letter of disgrace from his mother. The words she had wrote informed him that he was a disgrace as a son as well as a disgrace to the Black family name.

James received a letter as well, though his requested his presence home that evening.

When James shared the contents of his letter with his friend, Sirius instantly realized how upset his friend seemed.

"I'll go with you," Sirius offered, "I'll explain that it was all my fault…that you did it for me."

"Don't be mental," James shook his head.

"But I don't mind, it was all my fault and you did do it for me…you would have never stolen it if I didn't need it."

But James was adamant that Sirius stayed at Hogwarts while he went home alone.

After dinner that evening, Sirius sat in the common room with Remus and Peter trying to get some of his homework completed but his mind couldn't help but constantly wander to James and the Potter house and how much trouble he had gotten his best mate into.

Sirius sat in the common room, long after everyone else had gone to sleep waiting for his best mate to return and when he finally did Sirius instantly noticed his red, puffy eyes.

"You got into a huge amount of trouble," Sirius stated feeling absolutely horrible that he had put his friend in such a predicament.

James shrugged in a way that clearly confirmed Sirius' statement.

"I'm sor…"

"It's not a big deal," James shrugged, "I knew what my dad thinks about stealing, I knew what I was getting into, but if it'll help you, it's not a big deal. And I talked to my dad he said you can come stay with us for as long as you need too my parents want you to come stay with us."

Sirius felt his heart swell at the words. He wouldn't have to go home...someone wanted him.

He never asked James what had happened when he went home or if he had in fact been crying but after he lived with and got to know James parents he had a pretty good idea of exactly what had happened and that James most likely had been crying at some point that night. He also learned exactly what Mr. Potter thought of stealing and in a round about way dealt with the consequences himself and if possible that only made him cherish the friendship he had with James even more. To know that James was very aware of what the consequence of his actions would be, but that he had done it anyway… for Sirius.

**TBC..**


	63. Chapter 63

**Author's Note: Enjoy! I'm going to try to get another chapter up this week but I can't promise anything. Also I am doing the 30 day challenge in my journal (link is on my profile page) and I'd love to see your responses to some of the questions. You can comment my journal even if you don't have an account : )**

**And as always, thank you for all the support!**

**Miranda**

* * *

Sirius smiled fondly at the memory that had just so vividly played out in his mind as he climbed the stairs. Whenever he had to deal with misbehavior from his godson he tried his hardest to be sure he was doing what he felt James and Lily would have done and this particular instance was no exception. James had been a brother to him in every way possible, except for the one that really didn't count, and Sirius would bet all his gold that if James were alive at this very moment he would think back on the memory that Sirius had just remembered and act accordingly.

Pausing outside of Harry's door he forced the smile away and willed himself to look serious and stern. He walked into his godson's room to find Harry sitting on his bed up by the pillows, hugging his knees. His eyes flashed up for a second when Sirius entered the room but quickly went back down, concentrating hard on looking at his jean clad knees.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair as he walked across the room and grabbed the desk chair with one hand, quickly swinging it out so it was next to the bed, close to wear his godson was sitting.

He heard Harry sigh softly as he deposited himself into it.

Yes, his godson definitely thought he was in for a spanking.

"Harry," Sirius spoke.

"Yeah?" Harry didn't bother to look in the direction of his godfather. He knew that tone. He knew exactly where this was going and he couldn't even argue it, he deserved whatever he got. Still, he couldn't help feeling rather sorry for himself, being in the predicament he was in.

"Look at me please."

Harry knew that tone as well. His godfather's words weren't a request.

Slowly he lifted his eyes and turned his head to face Sirius'.

"I want to tell you what your granddad told me about stealing."

"Okay," Harry agreed as he wondered if this was the lecture before Sirius made his bum literally feel like it was going to fall off. Usually once he was sent to his room the lecturing was done and it was nothing but swift action but perhaps this time Sirius had forgotten to say something that he had wanted to.

"Your granddad always said that stealing was the worst crime anyone could commit and I believe he was right. When you really think about it, stealing is at the root of quite a few crimes you could commit. If you were to lie to me, you would be stealing my right to know the truth. If you were to cheat on a test, you would be stealing the right to fairness. If you killed someone, you would be stealing their right to life." As Sirius spoke the words he could clearly hear Mr. Potter's voice in his mind and it took everything he had in him to keep his face a stern one, to hide the smile that was dancing at his lips at the fond memory of the man who raised him.

He had been blessed to have the Potters in his life and to have someone like Mr. Potter to guide him through his teenage years. To correct him when he had done wrong and love him unconditionally and he prayed he was doing the same for Harry.

"I'm sorry I did it," Harry said in a soft voice.

"I know you are," Sirius reassured him, "But I need you to understand this. Stealing is never okay, no matter what the circumstances."

"I know," Harry nodded, "I knew before I even did it that it was wrong."

"And yet you did it anyway." Sirius spoke the words in a calm voice.

"I was running out of time," Harry explained, "I was panicking. I didn't want you to know..."

"That you had lied," Sirius cut him off.

Harry nodded. "I'm sorry for that too."

"If your granddad was here I can guarantee he'd make sure you'd never even think about stealing again."

Harry felt his face blush but he kept silent.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, sighing softly before he spoke. "Come here."

Harry let his knees drop down in front of him before he slowly slid off the edge of the bed and took the step to his godfather. He stood in front of him starring at Sirius' chest. He couldn't bring himself to look his godfather in the eyes.

Most of the time when he found himself in this situation it was because he had put his life into danger. He never planned to do so really, it sort of just happened that way at times. This time was different though. He had stolen and he couldn't help the guilt that was swimming in his stomach. His throat was already burning with tears he was about to shed and Sirius hadn't even laid a hand on him yet.

Sirius looked at the top of his godson's head of unruly hair. He knew that Harry knew what he had done was wrong and that he would never hear of his godson stealing again...still, he had to be certain.

Sirius could literally feel James' in the room, reassuring him that he was doing the right thing...even though his own father would likely disagree. But that was just it...it wasn't about what Mr. Potter would have done, it was about what James and Lily would have done.

Gently Sirius cupped his godson's chin in his hands and forced Harry's face up to meet his. Saying he was surprised when he instantly noticed the tears rimming Harry's eyes would be an understatement, but they only reassured him more.

"I think we both know what your punishment should very well be," Sirius spoke in a stern voice.

Harry didn't speak but his blushing face answered Sirius all on its own.

"Not only did you steal but you lied to me. I should tan your bum and I should make good on my threat and let you taste the effects of a soap charm."

His face still blushing Harry cringed slightly at the thought of his godfather actually washing his mouth out with soap. He really had to learn to stop lying to Sirius.

"However," Sirius continued, "You had quite the victorious day and I hardly want to be the reason it's spoiled."

He paused for a moment. The tears were still there, threatening to fall but a look of curiosity had taken over his godson's face.

Sirius could hear Snape's voice ringing in his head and perhaps for most children his words about a cuddle and a lecture would indeed be very true…but Harry wasn't most children.

"You are going to go to Snape and apologize once more and then you are going to offer to help him with whatever he may need every night for one week to make up for stealing from him, is that understood?" Sirius fought to keep his voice stern and the look on his face one of disappointment.

"Yes Sir," Harry practically whispered.

Sirius mentally congratulated himself; clearly he was showing just the right amount of sternness. In all honesty, there was nothing Sirius disliked more than his godson addressing him so formally but this was hardly the time to go soft. The last thing he wanted was for Harry to think that he was letting him off easy.

"And if I ever...ever hear of you stealing again I promise you I will take you over my knee every night for a week. Is that understood?"

Harry nodded his face blushing furiously at the threat.

_No, _Harry thought, _He would definitely never steal again._

"Alright then," Sirius nodded, "do you need to spend some time in your room to think about how wrong what you did was or do you understand?"

"I understand," Harry nodded quickly.

If there was a punishment he hated more than anything it was being made to stay in his room. He would have gladly taken a walloping and then stood in front of the Great Hall in the middle of supper and announced it as long as he didn't have to sit alone in his room for hours while his godfather was downstairs doing something completely brilliant.

"Then we won't speak of this again," Sirius replied as he let the sternness on his face soften.

"I won't ever do it again," Harry offered in a quite voice.

"I know Pup," Sirius smiled as he leaned over and placed a kiss on his godson's forehead, "Now how about you and I go spoil our dinner with some chocolate frogs and a game of exploding snap?"

Harry smiled a small smile as he nodded once. "Okay."

* * *

"I hope you know I'm holding you responsible," Ron spoke as he flipped through a Quidditch magazine.

It was well after dinner and he and Hermione were sitting in the Gryffindor common room. Hermione was working intently on an essay for charms class while Ron lounged around reading his magazine.

"Responsible for what?" She asked as she pushed her bushy hair behind her shoulder.

"For Harry," Ron answered, "He's been gone for hours."

"He's at home with Sirius."

"And it's all your fault," Ron replied, "You were the one who convinced him to go there!"

"You are mental! He is fine! He probably just stayed for dinner," Hermione replied in an exasperated voice.

"Do you know what my mum would do if I got caught stealing from Snape? They'd probably never even find my body!"

"Oh don't exaggerate! I'm sure Harry is just fine," Hermione sighed sounding bored with the conversation.

And then as if on cue, Harry stepped through the portrait.

"See!" Hermione smiled smugly as she pointed in his direction.

"See what?" Harry asked as he walked across the room and flopped down on the couch next to his red headed friend.

"How much trouble did you get in?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged. "I have to go apologize to Snape and offer to help him every night this week."

"That's it?" Ron asked in a shocked voice dropped his magazine into his lap.

Harry nodded.

"Bloody hell Harry, Sirius is the coolest parent ever!" Ron declared as he picked up his magazine once more.

Harry smiled as he nodded in agreement with his friend. Ron was right, Sirius was the coolest parent ever but honestly he didn't feel like he had gotten off all that easy. However, he wasn't about to explain to Ron how guilty he had felt at lying to his godfather and admitting to him that he had stolen. He couldn't explain how horrible he had felt when Sirius had looked at him with that disappointed look on his face or how close he had actually come to getting a walloping. And he wasn't about to share his godfather's threat on what would happen if he ever decided to steal again. So instead he nodded once more, the smile still plastered on his face. "Yeah, he really is."

* * *

"I will not repeat myself again Potter! You need to clean those gently!"

Harry looked down at the glass vial he held in his hand. Before he nodded once and continued scrubbing it out, more gently than he had been.

It was his third night of his punishment and he was slowly going insane. When he had gone to Snape and apologized the man had reacted the way he always did and then when Harry offered his services Snape had initially declined. Harry was almost out of the room and on his way when Snape called him back and rethought his offer and decided that indeed he could use the help.

The first two nights had been spent scrubbing out caldrons but apparently all of those had been cleaned because tonight Snape had moved on to vials.

It wasn't the work that made the nights so miserable for Harry, he could handle the work. After all, for years he had basically lived like a house elf. No what made the nights so unpleasant was the fact that Snape barely spoke and when he did speak it was only to bark out orders or tell Harry that he was doing something wrong.

Yes, Harry was about 99% sure that if he could go back in time he would beg his godfather for any other punishment aside from the one he was serving at the moment.

Harry stole a glance up at the clock that was ticking loudly on the wall. He had another ten minutes before Snape would tell him he was done for the evening.

"That's much better," Snape spoke shocking Harry with his compliment.

"Err thanks…Sir," he added hastily.

"Have you given any thought to the final task?"

Again, Harry was shocked by the man's voice and the fact that he was actually making conversation.

"No," Harry admitted, "I don't know what it is yet."

"I'm aware that you do not. However, someone clearly entered your name in the first place. Do you think that person has forgotten about you?"

"No Sir," Harry replied. In all honesty though he hadn't really given it much thought. After all, the first two tasks had gone better than expected.

Snape muttered something under his breath before raising his voice. "I would suggest Potter that you begin to train and prepare yourself for anything that may occur, no matter how dismal."

**TBC...**


	64. Chapter 64

**Author's Note: First update from my freshman dorm room, yay! (I'm a huge dork:)) As always thank you so much for all the support...this chapter isn't all that long but I had to get something up because my reviews are at 666 and it was freaking me out, haha. Enjoy this chapter and I'll update again asap! **

**Miranda**

* * *

The following weeks were packed with school work. It seemed every teacher in Hogwarts was determined to make their final exam the hardest and as a result Harry was up every night far later than he should have been working on homework.

The third task was rapidly approaching and he still hadn't spoken a word of Snape's advice to anyone. After all, if he didn't know what the task was how in the world was he supposed to prepare himself? Even if he told Sirius it wasn't as if his godfather would know how to prepare for a task that wasn't revealed yet.

And besides all Snape had really said was to be prepared for anything and in Harry's opinion that advice was a bit vast.

In all honesty he hadn't even given much thought to the final task. So far he had done quite well in the tournament and nothing had gone wrong so clearly whoever put his name in the goblet did so just to see how he would do or maybe at the most in hopes he would fail in a task and be humiliated or hurt.

After all if the person wanted him dead couldn't that have easily already been accomplished?

When the morning of April 1st came, Harry's mind was completely wrapped around the idea of finally finding out what the final task would be but the day passed quite like a normal school day would with no mention of the tournament at all.

"Maybe you heard him wrong," Ron suggested as the trio left supper that evening and walked towards their tower.

"I heard him as well," Hermione shook her head, "Dumbledore said they would find out on April 1st, exactly one month before the task which is on May 1st."

"I know how long a month is," Ron replied in an annoyed voice.

"I wasn't implying that you didn't," Hermione responded, "I was just repeating what Dumbeldore said."

It was at that moment that Cedric approached the three of them.

"McGonagall asked me to tell you that we have to be down at the Quidditch field tonight at nine o' clock."

Harry nodded.

"I suppose we're going to find out what the last task is," Cedric continued.

"Alright," Harry nodded once more, "I'll be there."

* * *

At a quarter to eight that night Harry left Ron and Hermione in the Gryffindor tower and headed towards the Quidditch pitch.

His plan was to find out what the task was, go get Ron and Hermione, and head home to Sirius to tell him about it. He figured that if they were giving them an entire month to figure out how to complete the last task then it had to be dreadful.

As Harry approached the Quidditch field the first thing he noticed was that the field was no longer flat and smooth. It looked as if someone had been building long, low walls all over it that twisted and crisscrossed in every direction.

A few yards in front of him, he noticed Dumbledore, Karkaroff, Madame Maxine, as well as the other champions.

"Harry!" Dumbledore smiled as he noticed him approaching.

Cedric and Fleur smiled brightly at Harry as Krum turned his head back towards the Professor's.

"Now that you're all here I'm sure you can tell what we have been building," Dumbledore smiled his eyes twinkling.

No one spoke for a moment and then Krum grunted.

"A maze."

"Indeed it is," Dumbeldore smiled, "The third task is really very straightforward. The Triwizard Cup will be placed in the center of the maze and the first champion that reaches it will receive full marks."

Harry raised an eyebrow at his headmaster. What was he playing at? There was no way in the world it could be that easy.

"We simply have to get through a maze?" Cedric asked and Harry noticed that Cedric looked just as confused as he felt.

"Of course there will be obstacles," Dumbledore replied, "Hagrid is providing a number of creatures and of course there will be spells that need to be broken, that sort of thing. The champions will enter the maze in order of their current scores but you will all have a fighting chance depending on how well you get past the obstacles…are there any questions?"

The four champions shook their heads silently.

"Very well then, I suppose we should head back up to the castle."

* * *

"A maze….a bloody maze," Sirius muttered as he paced the floor.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were seated around the living room while Remus stood in the doorway to the hall, leaning against the frame. The four of them had been watching Sirius pace for the last ten minutes.

Honestly, Harry didn't think the maze sounded that bad. Of course he'd probably have to learn a dozen new spells and practice them constantly but he wasn't feeling nearly as anxious as he had when he learned he was going to have to dive into the lake and he didn't feel nearly as nervous as he had when he had found out about the dragon.

Sirius however, obviously felt differently. He had yet to really say anything about it, aside from calling it a bloody maze.

The trio had gone directly to Remus' office and used the floo along with their Professor to go see Sirius.

Harry had repeated Dumbledore's instructions about the maze word for word and Sirius had begun pacing as the other four took their positions around the room.

Harry was preparing himself for his godfather's outburst. He was ready for Sirius to start hollering about how he couldn't do this, about how he'd pull him from Hogwarts…what he wasn't prepared for was what he got.

After a full fifteen minutes of pacing and deep breaths which had caused Hermione to look absolutely wrecked by nerves…Sirius stopped and sighed loudly as he ran a hand through his long hair. He placed one hand on the mantel, leaning into it.

"You absolutely have to learn a Shield Charm," Sirius spoke, "As well as the Impediment Curse, and the Reductor Curse…honestly that's just the beginning of the list though."

Harry looked up at his godfather and smiled widely, "Really?"

"Against my better judgment," Sirius nodded, "We're going to have lessons though, as often as you can and if you don't learn everything that you need to learn you aren't doing this…you'll just walk down there on June 1st and forfeit…understood?"

"Understood," Harry nodded quickly.

"It's getting late," Sirius nodded towards the fireplace, "You three should probably head back, you have classes tomorrow."

Ron and Hermione nodded as they headed towards the fireplace. Once they were inside, Harry stood as well and walked towards the fireplace, pausing for a moment in front of his godfather.

"Thanks…for not going mental or anything."

Sirius nodded as he forced a smile, "Night Pup." He leaned over and placed a rough kiss on Harry's forehead before he too stepped into the fireplace.

Sirius waited until the trio was gone before he glanced up at Remus. His best mate hadn't moved an inch from his spot in the doorway, leaning on the doorframe as if he was responsible for holding it up.

Remus didn't speak but merely waved a hand as if to say, 'go ahead.'

"Has Dumbledore lost his bloody mind?" Sirius asked as he began pacing once more. "He is twelve…twelve years old and that old coot expects him to go through a maze which will likely contain things that he'll have to get past far too advanced for him! And I'll tell you right now Mooney if there is even one hair hurt on my godson's head when this is all over I will be in Azkaban for the rest of my life!"

Remus didn't speak but nodded once in agreement when Sirius looked in his direction.

"I'm making a horrible mistake aren't I? No good, decent parent would allow their child to compete in such an event….I can't even imagine what Mr. Potter would have said or done if James or I ever wanted to do such a thing…can you even imagine?"

Sirius glanced up at Remus once more and Remus obediently shook his head.

"And we didn't even have half the issues Harry does….Pettigrew is still on the lose, Voldemort is out there somewhere, and I can't shake the feeling that there is something very funny with that Karkaroff character….no, no this isn't right at all….I should march right into Hogwarts and give Dumbledore a piece of my mind and after that I should bring Harry home and I don't care if he kicks and screams the whole way, I'll carry him out if I have to!"

"Padfoot," Remus spoke in a soft voice.

"But of course I can't do that because then I'm the horrible godfather that made him look like a coward and took him away from his friends. No I just get to sit here and worry myself grey while I hope to Merlin that nothing goes seriously wrong! I certainly hope everyone else is happy!"

"Padfoot," Remus spoke louder.

Sirius stopped pacing as he glanced over at his friend.

"You are a very good and very decent parent…that shows in everything Harry does or for that matter, doesn't do. This tournament is horrible, I'm not denying that and Harry is way too young to be involved in it but he is and there isn't much that can be done about that aside form dragging him out of Hogwarts kicking and screaming, as you put it, and I'm pretty sure that would only mortify the boy more than anything." Remus sighed softly. "Harry is an exceptional child as well as an exceptional wizard…we're talking a child that has defeated Voldemort twice since he's started at Hogwarts…he's special and I know you know that."

"You're telling me that I shouldn't be worried about this?" Sirius spoke in a shocked voice.

"Not at all," Remus shook his head, "I'm far past worried and I can't even imagine what you must be feeling….I am saying we need to train him, as you suggested and prepare him for anything that may occur….I am telling you that you need to stop beating yourself up over this as you really had very few options in this situation."

"I should have stuck to my original response to this whole mess and simply not allowed him to compete at all, despite the row it caused between us."

"And that would have made this house quite pleasant," Remus mused, "Not to mention you would have been miserable if you and Harry had such a row…I can't imagine what it would have done to the relationship you two share."

"James never would have allowed this," Sirius sighed as he collapsed into his armchair.

"I'm not so sure about that," Remus replied, "James would have been worried of course, but I'm not sure he would have pulled Harry from the tournament, I could see him allowing to compete…I could see the three of us training Harry under Lily's watchful eye as well."

Sirius smiled softly as Remus' words…he supposed he could see that as well.

"Stop being so hard on yourself," Remus instructed as he crossed the room and picked up a handful of floo powder, "This will all be over in a month's time."

* * *

"You can do this," Hermione spoke in a confident voice, "You just really need to concentrate."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in the empty Transfiuration classroom, with McGonagall's permission, working hard on the charms and curses Sirius had put on the list that Harry needed to learn.

At the moment they were working on the Shield Charm.

Harry was trying to learn how to cast a temporary invisible wall around himself but so far every time he did so Hermione had been able to shatter it with a jinx. The last one had been a Jelly-Legs Jinx which had caused Harry to wobble around the room for ten minutes afterwards before she had looked up the counter jinx.

"You're still doing really well though," Hermione added as an after thought, "You just need to concentrate more."

They had been practicing for two whole weeks now…two or three nights a week with Sirius and sometimes Remus and whenever they had free time at school. Harry had told his friends countless times that they didn't need to help him, after all they really should have been studying for final exams, but they had both shushed his worries. Ron seemed happy to have an excuse to get away from studying and surprisingly Hermione didn't seem to mind much at all.

So far Harry had mastered several of the courses Sirius had assigned him and to his godfather's approval at that but he still had a few he was working on and he realized he was running out of time.

"Can we take a break for a few minutes?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded, "Yes let's…that might help you."

Harry nodded in relief as he sat on the floor exactly where he had been standing. Between his actual homework, studying for final exams, and these extra lessons he was exhausted.

Sirius seemed happy with his progress though and he still had yet to threaten to pull Harry out of Hogwarts or the tournament.

Of course, Harry suspected it was all an act. He could see it in his godfather's eyes during every lesson. He didn't like this arrangement one bit and every time Harry saw it in Sirius' eyes he felt an emotion rush through him that he couldn't quite name…to think his godfather was doing this just for him.

Harry promised himself every time he went to a lesson with Sirius that he would behave perfectly all summer…his godfather wouldn't even have to scold him once….that would be his way of thanking him.

"We should really get back to practicing," Hermione's voice ripped Harry from his thoughts, "It's getting late."

Harry groaned as he pulled himself up off the floor.

"_Just two more weeks"_, he thought to himself, "_and this will all be done."_

**TBC...**


	65. Chapter 65

**Author's Note: In case you were wondering, Wednesday's are my easy day this semester meaning I have one class at 10am and then I am free so since I had about 75% of this chapter done I decided to finish it and post it tonight. As always thank you for all your support…I can't believe I'm saying this but this story will be done in 2-4 more chapters. Wow!**

**Enjoy this chapter!**

**Miranda**

* * *

Two weeks later Harry had mastered the Shield Charm as well as everything else his godfather had put on the list. Harry could see the pride in Sirius' eyes every time they crossed another lesson off but he could also see the fear. Harry was almost certain that a small part of his godfather was hoping he wouldn't be able to do it so he would have to forfeit and really he couldn't be mad at Sirius for it, a small part of him really did understand…the same small part of him that toyed with the idea of quitting just before every task.

On the morning of May 1st, the Great Hall was quite noisy during breakfast. Harry sat, occasionally sipping his pumpkin juice, but eating very little.

"You'll need your strength you know," Hermione spoke.

Harry shrugged as he pushed his fork around on his plate.

He was too anxious to eat. He just wanted the task…the tournament…to be over with already. He wanted things to get back to normal. And as mental as he knew it sounded he couldn't wait for final exams so that he could be done with another year at Hogwarts and just go home with Sirius.

"My parents are coming to watch," Ron said as he shoved a forkful of food into his mouth, "Dad thinks it's going to be brilliant but mum is real worried, she thinks this whole thing is barbaric or something."

"Harry is going to be great," Hermione spoke as she noticed Harry's face going pale.

"Of yeah, of course," Ron nodded, "You know every spell mate, there's no way you won't win."

"I just want to survive," Harry muttered under his breath.

* * *

The third task was scheduled to begin at noon and so at half past eleven Harry began to make his way towards the Quidditch pitch.

The moment it came into view he instantly noticed how tall the maze had gotten in just a months time and the nervousness began to take over his stomach as he mentally ran over ever spell and hex he had learned. The knowledge that he could remember them all calmed his nerves immensely.

He felt a hand touch his arm and he turned to see his godfather standing there.

"How are you feeling?" Sirius asked his grey eyes full of worry.

"I'm okay," Harry nodded. It wasn't a lie, his nerves had calmed a considerable amount and he was feeling slightly confident that he could complete this task.

"If you don't want to do this…"

"I know I don't have to," Harry cut him off, "But I'm okay…really."

"If you change your mind at any point I want you to send red sparks into the air, got it?"

"I got it," Harry nodded as Dumbledore called him towards where the other champions were standing.

"Alright," Sirius nodded once before pulling his godson into a crushing hug, "After this let's just have a few quiet, peaceful months okay?"

Harry nodded quickly, "Definitely."

* * *

As Harry approached Dumbledore and the other champions he noticed that the stands had begun to fill up. He spotted Hermione who was sitting with Ron and his family and next to them was Remus with an empty spot to his right, obviously meant for Sirius.

Dumbledore gathered the four champions around and spoke quietly. "Several teachers will be patrolling the outside of the maze. If at any point you wish to be rescued you simply need to send red sparks into the air and one of us will come in and get you out, understood?"

Harry smiled and nodded, clearly his godfather had already spoken to Dumbledore.

"Alright then, let's begin this."

Dumbledore walked into the center of the stands and held his wand at his throat, muttered, _'Sonorus'_, and his magically magnified voice echoed into the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place are Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter both of Hogwarts School!"

The stands erupted into cheers so loud that they sent birds flying out of the forbidden forest. Harry glanced at the maze and for the first time noticed how dark and scary the entrance looked and for a moment he seriously contemplated just walking away but he had come too far and too many people had worked too hard to help him, he wasn't about to give up now.

"So then on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!"

Dumbledore's words pulled Harry out of his thoughts and he quickly realized that he was about to start the task.

Dumbledore gave a short blast on a whistle, and Harry and Cedric hurried forward into the maze.

Harry entered the maze and immediately took note of the complete silence that engulfed him. He wasn't sure if it was because the hedges were so thick and so tall or if it was caused by a spell but he couldn't hear any of the cheers that he was sure were still echoing just feet away from him.

The maze was also quiet dark, despite the fact that it was only noon, and so he quickly pulled out his wand and muttered, '_lumos'_,just as he heard Cedric do the same behind him.

Harry and Cedric walked next to each other for about fifty yards before they came to a fork.

"See you," Cedric muttered as he took the right one.

Taking a deep breath Harry nodded in reply before he set off down the left on his own.

Moments later, despite the fact that all had been silent, he heard Dumbledore's whistle once more…Krum had entered the maze. Harry sped up. The path he was on seemed completely deserted. He made several turns, both left and right as he held his wand high in the air so he could see ahead of him…but still there was nothing. And then he heard Dumbledore's whistle blow again…all the champions were inside now.

Harry reached another fork and held his wand in the center of his hand, "point me," he whispered mentally thanking Remus for being so insistent that he learn this particular spell. The wand spun around once and pointed into a solid hedge indicating that that way was north and Harry knew he needed to go northwest to get to the center of the maze. After a second of thought he figured the best he could do would be to take the left fork and go right again as soon as possible and so he set off once more.

The path he took was completely empty as well and he immediately ran into a right turn, which he also took. He didn't know why but the lack of obstacles was making him very nervous. He had been in the maze for at least thirty minutes shouldn't he have at least run into something by now?

Then he heard movement right behind him. He held out his wand, ready to attack, but its beam only fell upon Cedric, who had just hurried out of a path on the right hand side. He looked severely shaken. The sleeve of his robe was smoking.

"Blast-Ended Skrewts!" He hissed. "They're enormous, I only just got away!"

He shook his head and not bothering to wait for a reply from Harry hurried along down another path.

Harry hurried off again and after taking another right, did the Four-Point Spell and realized he was going too far east. He turned back, took a right, and saw an odd golden mist floating ahead of him.

Harry approached it cautiously, pointing the wand's beam at it. It looked like some kind of enchantment.

"Reducto!" He said, hoping to blast it out of the way.

The spell shot straight through the mist, leaving it intact. He supposed he should have known better; the Reductor Curse was for solid objects after all.

He wondered what would happen if he just walked through the mist and whether it was worth chancing it.

He was still standing there wondering this when a scream shattered the silence.

"Fleur?" Harry yelled.

The silence that answered him was deafening. She had sounded as though she was hurt and her scream sounded as though it had come from somewhere ahead of him.

Taking a deep breath Harry ran through the mist. At first he thought it hadn't had any effect on him and then the world turned upside down.

Harry was hanging from the ground, his glasses dangling off his nose, threatening to fall into the bottomless sky. He clutched his glasses to his face and hung there terrified, he felt as though if he moved even an inch he would fall off the earth completely.

'_Think'_, he lectured himself as the blood ran to his head.

But he didn't know a single spell that had been designed to fix this.

The way he saw it he had two choices, he could try and move or he could give up and send up red sparks.

Squeezing his eyes shut tightly he pulled his right foot as hard as he could away from the grass.

Quickly and without warning, the world righted itself. Harry fell forward onto his knees, feeling limp with shock. He took a deep, steadying breath, and then he got up and hurried forward, looking back over his shoulder as he ran away from the golden mist.

He raced down a path seeing no sight of Fleur. He wondered to himself if she had sent up red sparks or if she was in so much trouble that she wasn't able to reach her wand to do so. He hoped that wasn't the case and that she was alright but at the same time he couldn't help but think to himself that if she had sent up red sparks that meant there was one less champion in the race.

For the first time since this whole tournament started he allowed himself to think that he might actually win. He pictured himself holding the trophy up above his head in front of everyone as Sirius smiled proudly.

He had been hurrying along a new path for a few minutes, when he heard something in the path running parallel to his own that made him stop dead.

"What are you doing?" yelled Cedric's voice. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

And then Harry heard Krum's voice.

"Crucio!"

The air was suddenly full of Cedric's yells. Horrified, Harry began sprinting up his path, trying to find a way into Cedric's. When none appeared he tried the Reductor Curse again. It wasn't very effective, but it burned a small hole in the hedge through which Harry forced his leg, kicking at the thick branches until they broke and made an opening, he struggled through it, tearing his robes in the process, and looking to his right he saw Cedric jerking and twitching on the ground, Krum standing over him.

Harry quickly pointed his wand at Krum.

"Stupefy!" Harry yelled.

The spell hit Krum in the back causing him to fall forward and lay motionless.

Harry rushed over to Cedric who had stopped twitching and was now covering his face with his hands.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked as he grabbed Cedric's arm and helped him up off the ground.

"Yeah," Cedric panted, "I was just walking…he snuck up behind me….I heard him and when I turned around he had his wand on me."

Harry noticed that Cedric was still shaking.

"I thought he was alright," Harry muttered softly.

"So did I."

"Did you hear Fleur scream earlier?" Harry asked.

"Yeah…you don't think Krum got her too?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know."

"Should we leave him here?"

"No," Harry shook his head, "We should probably send up red sparks so someone will come get him. He might end up dead if we just leave him here."

"He'd deserve it," Cedric muttered but as he did so he raised his wand and shot a shower of red sparks into the air, which hovered high above Krum, marking the spot where he lay.

* * *

Sirius nearly jumped off his seat as red sparks flew into the air for the second time. He watched intensively as a number of teachers headed into the maze, only to return moments later with Viktor Krum.

Harry had been in the maze for over an hour now and Sirius couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone terribly wrong.

After all, there were only two champions left and of course one of them happened to be his godson. He was torn between wanting Harry out of that maze, regardless of whether he completed the task or not, and wanting his godson to win the whole tournament.

Yes, the words he had spoken to Remus remained true…if even a hair on his godson's head was hurt someone was going to pay.

* * *

Several moments later, Harry was once again alone in the maze.

It was funny how quickly he and Cedric had gone from fighting against Krum together to remembering that they were in a competition against each other and moments after they realized, they spoke no words but went their separate ways once more.

Harry turned a corner to see another long path and at the end of it…was a giant serpent.

Quickly he walked down the path.

'_No'_, he thought to himself, _'this is too easy and the teachers all know it…it can't be right.'_

As Harry approached the snake uncoiled itself and rose to meet him face to face, bearing its large fangs.

Harry supposed the idea was to use some sort of hex to get past the serpent but instead he opened his mouth and spoke to it.

"Hello."

"You're a parselmouth," the snake hissed in a delighted voice, "I wasn't aware one of the champions was."

"So you're a real snake then, not just a boggart or some sort of spell?" Harry asked.

"I'm quite real."

"How long have you been in here?" Harry really didn't want to make small talk but he also didn't want to be rude and offend the serpent.

"Just since this morning, I'll be returned to the forbidden forest when this has ended."

Harry nodded giving the snake a hopeful look. "So will you let me pass you?"

"You're supposed to fight your way past me."

Harry's face fell. "I don't really want to fight you."

"I suppose the rules could be bent," the snake hissed as it moved out of the way, "Hurry though, you're quite close to the cup you desire."

"Thank you," Harry smiled as he passed.

The snake bowed his head slightly.

Harry took off in a run. He could see the cup gleaming in front of him. He was going to do this, he was going to win. And then he saw Cedric running just as fast towards the cup from the other direction…and Cedric saw him. But Harry was closer, even if it was only by a few feet…if he ran a little faster and reached his arm out…he would win.

And then out of no where a giant spider thundered towards Harry. Quickly Harry pulled out his wand and yelled, "Stupefy!" But it did little good as the spider picked Harry up with its front legs and began to thrash him around.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry heard Cedric yell loudly.

The spider immediately dropped Harry and as he did Harry felt his ankle twist as he groaned in pain.

The spider was heading back towards him again and he quickly pointed his wand yelling, "Stupefy!" once more. It probably wouldn't have done much good except Cedric yelled the same spell at the same moment and the two spells combined caused the spider to keel over sideways.

"Are you alright?" Cedric asked.

"No," Harry shook his head as he tried to stand. His ankle was killing him and didn't want to support his weight.

Harry looked up at Cedric who was standing mere inches from the cup.

"Just take it."

But Cedric didn't move. He glanced at Harry and then back at the cup and then back at Harry before he spoke again. "No, you saved me back there…Krum could have killed me."

"It doesn't matter," Harry shook his head, "Just take it."

"No."

"Stop being noble and just take it so we can get out of here!"

"You told me about the dragons, I wouldn't have made it past the first task without you."

"I had help on that too," Harry replied as he crawled towards the nearest hedge and used it to steady himself, "and you helped me with the egg so we're square."

"I had help on that," Cedric replied.

"We're still square," Harry insisted, "Now just take the cup."

"You should have gotten more points in the second task you stayed behind to help the others."

"I was the only one stupid enough to believe that song," Harry said, "Take the cup!"

"No," Cedric shook his head as he walked over to Harry, "You go ahead."

Harry looked Cedric in the eye. He was serious. He was willing to give it all up.

"We'll both do it," Harry said.

"What?"

"We'll grab it at the same time and tie for it."

"You're…you're sure?" Cedric asked.

"Yeah…we've been helping each other all along haven't we? We'll just make it a Hogwarts victory."

Cedric nodded as a smile took over his face. "Alright, come here."

He grabbed Harry's arm below the shoulder and helped Harry limp towards the cup. When they had reached it they both held a hand out, just inches from the cup's handles.

"On the count of three," Harry said, "One…two…three…."

He and Cedric both grabbed a handle.

Instantly, Harry felt a jerk somewhere behind his navel. His feet left the ground. He could not unclench the hand that was holding the cup, it was pulling him onward in a howl of wind and swirling color, with Cedric at his side.

**TBC...**


	66. Chapter 66

**Author's Note: Anyone remember me? Anyone? Well if anyone is still out there reading this, and I'd be surprised if there was, you have my deepest apologies for taking so long to update this story. My only excuse is that my first semester of college is thoroughly kicking my butt. However, as a peace offering for my lack of updating I've made this chapter as long as I possibly could and I also promise to have the next chapter up by Monday at the very latest.**

**Enjoy : )**

**Mira**

**

* * *

**

Harry felt his feet slam into the ground, his injured ankle crushed as it hit the hard, cold earth and Harry nearly screamed in pain. It was at that moment that he let go of the Triwizard Cup and as he did so it flew through the air, landing several feet away from him. Obviously Cedric had also let it go at some point since they landed.

"Where are we?" Harry asked praying he sounded braver than he felt.

Cedric shook his head as he got up and helped Harry to his feet.

Harry looked around and instantly realized they were a long way from Hogwarts. Not only did the area they were standing in look completely unfamiliar, but even the mountains that surrounded Hogwarts castle were gone.

They were in a dark and overgrown graveyard and Harry couldn't help but instantly think of Sirius and how worried he would be if he knew where his godson was at this very moment.

Cedric looked down at the Triwizard Cup and then up at Harry.

"Did you know the cup was a Portkey?" Cedric asked.

"Huh?" Harry couldn't help the word from coming out of his mouth. He had heard Sirius and Remus speak of portkey's but he had never actually traveled by one.

Harry's eyes scanned the graveyard. He couldn't help the eerie feeling that was creeping up on him. "Is this part of the task do you think?"

"I don't know," Cedric admitted, "Wands out though? Probably the smartest route to go."

Harry nodded as he pulled his wand out of his back pocket, glad that Cedric had suggested they have their wands at the ready.

Harry's eyes continued to scan the graveyard. He couldn't shake the eerie feeling he had been experiencing and now he also felt as if he was being watched.

The two boys stood there for several moments before Harry saw movement a few yards away from them.

"Someone's coming," he said suddenly.

Harry couldn't make out a face as the figure approached but he could tell by the way it was walking, and how it was positioning its hands that it was obviously holding something.

Whoever it was, he was short, and wearing a hooded cloak pulled up over his head to hide his face. It almost looked as if he was carrying a baby and once again Harry wondered if this was all just part of the last task.

Harry lowered his wand slightly and glanced at Cedric who merely shrugged in reply. The two of them watched as the hooded figure walked closer and then stopped just a few feet in front of them.

For a moment the three of them just stood there in silence and then Harry's scar exploded with pain. It was a pain that he had never felt so strongly in his life. His wand slipped from his fingers as he put his hands over his face, his knees buckled, and he fell to the ground. The pain in his forehead was so severe that he could see nothing, and he was sure his head was about to split open.

From far away, above his head, he heard a high, cold voice say, "Kill the boy."

Harry heard a swishing noise and a second voice which screeched the words, "Avada Kedavra!"

A blast of green light blazed through Harry's eyelids, and he heard something heavy fall to the ground beside him as the pain in his scar, if possible, worsened.

Harry remained in his position, his hands covering his face for several moments, terrified of what he would see, before he finally removed his hands and slowly opened his eyes.

Cedric was lying on the ground beside him. He was dead.

For a second, Harry starred into his face, at his open eyes, his blank expressionless face, his half open mouth. H

Harry wanted to cry. He wanted to scream out for his godfather. He wanted to run back to the portkey as fast as his legs would carry him. However, before he had time to do any of this he felt himself being pulled to his feet.

The short man had put down whatever it was that he had been carrying and lit his wand. His cloak was still covering his face as he dragged Harry toward a marble headstone. Harry gasped loudly as the wandlight flickered on the headstone and the name upon it was revealed.

TOM RIDDLE

Before Harry knew what was happening he was being tied to the headstone with tight cords that the cloaked man had conjured up.

Harry tried to struggle and the man hit him, causing his cloak to fall back off his head and reveal his identity.

"You!" Harry gasped as he looked into the eyes of Peter Pettigrew.

Pettigrew didn't answer but simply continued at his task for several more moments before he was satisfied that Harry wasn't going to be able to move at all and then he simply walked away.

Harry couldn't turn his head and therefore couldn't see where Pettigrew had gone. He could however see Cedric's body laying a mere ten feet away from him, his wand was laying by Cedric's head. He could also see the Triwizard Cup just a few feet beyond Cedric.

He could also see the bundle that Pettigrew had been carrying. It was now lying at the foot of the grave, stirring slightly.

Harry watched it stir, and his scar seared with pain again. Instantly he knew that he didn't want to see whatever was in that bundle.

He could hear noises at his feet and he looked down to see a giant snake slithering through the grass, circling the headstone where he was tied.

Moments later Pettigrew appeared once again, pushing a cauldron to the foot of the grave.

Harry watched in silence as Pettigrew lit a fire under the cauldron, which appeared to be filled with water.

Harry wanted to yell, he wanted to scream for help…but he was scared silent.

He watched as the liquid in the cauldron heated, sending fiery sparks into the sky.

"Hurry!" A high, cold voice said loudly, "He may come attempt to save him."

"It is ready Master," Pettigrew said.

"Now," said the cold voice.

Pettigrew unfolded the bundle on the ground causing Harry to let out a yell.

The thing inside the bundle had the shape of a human child but Harry had never seen anything less like a child. It was hairless and scaly looking, a dark raw red black color. And its face was flat and snakelike with gleaming red eyes.

Harry watched as Pettigrew carried the thing to the cauldron and dropped it inside.

_Please let it drown_, he thought to himself as his scar burned in pain, _just please let it down. _

Harry didn't realize that Pettigrew was standing right in front of him until he felt his breath on his face.

"Blood of the enemy…forcibly taken…you will resurrect your foe."

Harry was tied too tightly to do anything to prevent it. He attempted to struggle as he saw the shining silver dagger in Pettigrew's hand but it was no use. He felt its point penetrate the crook of his right arm and blood seeping down the sleeve of his torn robes.

Harry watched in pain as Pettigrew took a vile from his pocket and held in under Harry's arm, collecting the blood that was falling.

He walked back to the cauldron with Harry's blood. He poured it inside and Harry watched as the liquid in the cauldron instantly turned a blinding white.

And then he saw the dark outline of a man, tall and sickly thin, rising slowly from the cauldron.

"Robe me," the man spoke and Pettigrew quickly scrambled to pick up what was once just a bundle but shaken out was a black robe. He covered the tall man in it, cloaking his head.

The thin man stepped out of the cauldron and starring at Harry…and Harry starred back instantly knowing without a doubt in his mind who the man was…instantly feeling the terror rise through his body.

Lord Voldemort had risen again.

Voldemort's eyes locked with Harry's for a few moments before he turned to Pettigrew.

"Your arm," he spoke the words in a snake like voice.

Harry watched as Pettigrew held out his arm. Voldemort slipped his hand into one of the pockets of his robe and withdrew his wand. He caressed it gently before he slowly pulled back the arm of Pettigrew's cloak to reveal what appeared to be a tattoo, a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth, but it was glowing red.

Slowly Voldemort raised a finger and pressed it against Pettigrew's tattoo, causing Harry's scar to sear with pain. Harry squinted his eyes shut tightly as the tears made their way down his face. The pain was just too much.

"Crying are we Harry Potter?"

Harry slowly opened his eyes to see Voldemort pacing back in forth in front of him.

More than anything in the world Harry wished Sirius would appear. Honestly Harry would have done anything to be at home with his godfather this very moment.

"Crying because of the fear you feel at seeing me stand before you? Or perhaps at the idea of never seeing your precious blood traitor of a godfather again? Or maybe even because you know that tonight Harry Potter…tonight you shall die."

Harry wanted to scream out that his godfather was more of a man than the bastard in front of him could ever be but he held his tongue. If there was one thing Sirius had absolutely drilled into his head it was to control his temper and if there was ever a time to remember what his godfather had taught him, this was it.

"No words to defend the only family you have left Harry Potter?"

Harry glared at him but once more kept his mouth shut.

"You stand on the remains of my late father," he hissed softly, "A muggle and a fool…very like your dear mother though I suppose your mother served a purpose, she died to defend you as a child….she died at my hand, as did your father….as well as my own father. See we are alike Harry Potter…we are alike in the fact that we were both raised as orphans. However when it came time to pick a true family for ourselves you chose a pitiful blood traitor while I made a wiser decision."

Voldemort paused as he laughed loudly.

"And now they shall return to me!"

Harry looked up to see the air suddenly full of the swishing of cloaks. Between graves, behind trees, in every shadowy space, wizards were apparating. All of them were hooded and masked. And one by one they moved forward…slowly, as though they could hardly believe their eyes. Voldemort stood in silence and then one of the Death Eaters dropped to his knees and kissed the hem of his black robes.

"Master…Master…" he said softly.

One by one each of the Death Eaters did the same, and once done kissing Voldemort's cloak they slowly backed away, forming a silent circle around Voldemort and Tom Riddle's grave.

Harry watched as Voldemort slowly walked around the circle, stopping to speak to several of the Death Eaters, including Malfoy's father.

When Harry had heard Lucius' name he wanted to scream out that the man was a coward but again he bit his tongue as he prayed that someone, anyone would show up to save him.

Voldemort had reached a gap in the circle and he paused for a moment in front of it before he spoke.

"And here we are missing a servant but he may perhaps be the most faithful servant of all…he is currently at Hogwarts and it was through his efforts that our young friend arrived here tonight." Voldemort paused for a moment before he turned to face Harry, "Yes Harry Potter has joined us for my rebirthing party. One might even go as far as to call him my guest of honor."

Harry felt the blood drain from his face as Voldemort talked about the person Harry knew…Snape. Dumbledore had been wrong…Sirius had been wrong…Snape was evil.

Voldemort moved slowly back and forth in front of Harry. "Yes my guest of honor….the child you all believed had been my downfall."

Slowly and lazily Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it at Harry.

"Crucio!"

It was pain beyond anything Harry had ever experienced. He no longer prayed for Sirius or someone to save him…he just wanted it to end….to black out….to die….he didn't care as long as the pain stopped.

And then just as quickly as it started, it was gone and Harry was hanging limply in the ropes binding him to the headstone. He could hear the Death Eaters' laughter all around him as he starred into Voldemort's red eyes.

"Now you see how I think it foolish to suppose that this child could ever have been stronger than me," Voldemort said, "But I don't want there to be mistake in anyone's mind, no one will call Lord Voldemort weak. This child escaped me by lucky chance and tonight I shall kill Harry Potter in front of you all when there is no godfather to protect him, no Dumbledore to help him, and no mother to die for him. I will give him his chance and he will be allowed to fight back and you will be left with no doubt about which one of us is the stronger."

Harry felt the fear radiating through his body. _'Sirius please,' _he prayed, _'please come find me.'_

"Now untie him," Voldemort instructed Pettigrew, "And give him back his wand."

When Harry's body hit the ground he contemplated running for a moment but his ankle was barely supporting his weight and his arm where Pettigrew had cut him was throbbing horribly and he was sure he didn't have the strength to run very fast or very far. Plus the Death Eaters had moved closer, forming a tighter circle around them and Harry just couldn't see a way out.

"You have been taught how to duel, Harry Potter?" said Voldemort softly.

At these words Harry remembered a quiet afternoon over the past summer when Sirius had explained dueling to him and had shown him how to do so the best he could without the use of magic. The only charm Harry had really mastered was the Disarming spell and that certainly wasn't going to help him much. He knew what he was up against….he remembered what Sirius had told him about…warned him of…the un-blockable Avada Kedavra curse and Voldemort was right, there was no one to protect him…no one to help him…no one to die for him.

"We bow to each other Harry," Voldemort's voice ripped him from his thoughts and Harry watched as he bended a little but kept his eyes upon Harry. "Come…your godfather and Dumbledore would like you to show manners, bow to death Harry Potter."

The Death Eaters were laughing again but Harry did not bow. He was not going to give him the satisfaction.

"I said bow," said Voldemort raising his wand and Harry felt his spine curve as though someone were behind him forcing him to bow.

"Very good," Voldemort hissed, "And now you face me like a man, the way your father died…and now we duel."

Voldemort raised his wand and before Harry could do anything to defend himself; he had been hit again by the Cruciatus Curse. The pain was so intense that Harry felt as if knives were jabbing into his body and once again he scar seared with pain as he fell to the ground.

And then suddenly the pain stopped. Quickly Harry pulled himself up off the ground and faced Voldemort once more.

"Would you like a break Harry? That hurt didn't it? You don't want me to do that again do you?"

Harry listened to the Death Eaters erupt into laughter once more but he didn't answer. He was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it but he wasn't about to play along with Voldemort's game…he wasn't going to beg for his life.

"Answer me! Imperio!"

Harry felt the sensation that all thought had been wiped from his mind.

'_Just answer no…say no…just answer no.'_

Don't do it, a stronger voice in the back of his head insisted, don't do it.

'_Just answer no…_

I won't do it, I won't say it.

_Just answer no…_

"I WON'T!"

These words came from Harry's mouth and echoed through the graveyard. Harry felt as if he had been hit with a bucket of cold water, suddenly all his thoughts came rushing back and he remembered where he was and what was going on.

"You won't?" asked Voldemort in a snake like voice, "You won't say no? Apparently your godfather has taught you no obedience in the time he has had you…not much of a surprise actually. Very well, I shall teach you myself…another dose of pain perhaps?"

Voldemort raised his wand once more but this time Harry was ready.

Again he thought back to the day Sirius taught him to duel and his godfather's words rang through his head.

"_If you do not have your wand for whatever reason, don't be afraid to resort to dodging spells, running, or hiding from them."_

Quickly Harry flung himself sideways onto the ground and rolled behind the marble headstone which cracked as the curse hit it.

"We are not playing hide-and-seek Harry. Come out here and die if you are tired of this game…I will make it quick…perhaps even painless."

Harry crouched behind the headstone willing himself not to cry. There was no hope and he knew it. Still, he wasn't going to die like a coward…he was going to die standing upright like his father, and he was going to die trying to defend himself even if it was a hopeless battle.

Quickly, before he could back up, Harry stood up griping his wand tightly. Without giving it a second thought he thrust himself out from behind the gravestone and thrust his wand out in front of Voldemort.

Voldemort was ready. As Harry shouted, "Expelliarmus!" Voldemort cried, "Avada Kedavra!"

A jet of green light issued from Voldemort's wand just as a jet of red light blasted from Harry's. The two lights met in the air and connected, forming a deep gold light.

Harry looked down at his wand to see it shaking and vibrating and quickly looked over at Voldemort to see his wand doing the same.

And then suddenly both Harry and Voldemort were rising into the air, their wands still connected. The two glided away from the Death Eaters to a patch of ground that was free of gravestones before they were planted firmly back on the ground, still connected by their wands. And then the golden light splintered, though the wands remained connected, a thousand more beams arched high over Harry and Voldemort, crisscrossing all around them, until they were enclosed in a dome shaped web.

The Death Eaters ran over to them, circling the dome but unable to enter.

"Do nothing," Voldemort instructed them loudly, "Do nothing unless I command you!"

And then suddenly Harry heard his godfather's soft voice in his ear, as if Sirius was standing just behind him, though Harry knew that was impossible.

_Don't break the connection._

I know, Harry muttered under his breath.

But no sooner had the words left his mouth when his wand started to vibrate more powerfully than ever. Harry saw a large bead like light in the center of the light and it was obvious by the look on Voldemort's face that whatever it was, it wasn't good.

Harry focused every inch of his brain on that bead of light, willing it to move towards Voldemort's wand and then, very slowly, it began to.

Harry didn't understand why he was doing it, didn't know what it might achieve…but he concentrated as he never had in his life. And then it happened. The bead of light connected with Voldemort's wand and at once his wand began to emit echoing screams of pain and as Voldemort's eyes widened with shock Cedric appeared out of the tip of his wand.

Harry resisted the urge to drop his wand as he saw the face of Cedric…and then his entire body appeared as he stepped out of Voldemort's wand.

The ghost of Cedric smiled at Harry.

"Hold on, Harry," it said, "and when you get out of here take my body back for my dad alright?"

Harry nodded, concentrating hard on keeping the connection between the two wands.

And now another head was emerging from the tip of the wand and instantly Harry knew who it was, he had thought about him more tonight than anyone except maybe Sirius.

"I'm so proud of you," he spoke, "You are doing so well."

Harry's hands shook widely as he looked into the ghostly face of his father.

"Your mother's coming," he said quietly, "She wants to see you…it's all going to be alright, you're going to go home to Sirius…just hold on."

And then she appeared…first her head and then her body. She straightened herself as she approached her son and Harry couldn't help but stare into her eyes…the eyes he too possessed.

She walked closer to Harry than the others had and looked down at him as she spoke.

"When the connection is broken, we will linger for only moments…but it will give you time…you must get to the Portkey, it will return you to Hogwarts…do you understand love?"

"Yes," Harry gasped as he fought to keep a hold of his wand which was slipping in his fingers.

"Do it now," his father's voice whispered, "be ready to run…do it now…."

"NOW!" Harry yelled glad to finally be able to loosen the grip on his wand and break the connection. The moment he did the dome around them disappeared but Cedric and his parents did not and they were closing in around Voldemort, protecting Harry from his gaze.

Harry took off running faster than he ever had in his life. His ankle was throbbing with pain but he forced his brain to ignore it. He zigzagged through headstones as Death Eaters shot stunning charms in his direction.

"Stun him!" He heard Voldemort scream.

Without slowing down Harry jumped over the cup and closed a hand around one of Cedric's.

"Accio!" Harry yelled pointing his wand at the Triwizard Cup and just as the cup connected with his hand he heard Voldemort yell out, "Avada!"

But it was too late, he felt a jerk behind his belly button and moments later he slammed face first into the ground.

**TBC...**


	67. Chapter 67

**Author's Note: As promised here is the next chapter : ) I realize this chapter isn't quite as long but I promised an update by Monday so here it is! Enjoy and I'll try and get the next one up soon!**

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Harry felt himself slam face first into the ground, his face pressed hard into the grass as he heard the crowds in the stands erupt into cheers and applause.

He wanted to get up and yell at them all to shut up, to tell them what had just happened…but he didn't…he couldn't.

His ankle was throbbing, his arm was tingling in pain, and he was just completely exhausted in every sense of the word.

Without even realizing he was doing so, he tightened his grip on the two things he was holding…the Triwizard Cup and Cedric's body.

His scar was still burning in pain and he couldn't help but wonder if it would ever stop now that Voldemort was back.

Harry didn't know how long he stayed in his position on the ground but at some point he became aware that the applause had stopped. He heard Sirius yelling at someone in the distance…and then he felt a familiar touch on his arm.

"Harry…Harry!"

He opened his eyes to find himself nose to nose with his godfather. Sirius' eyes were full of concern and worry.

Harry let go of the cup and used the hand that was clutching it to hold onto Cedric tighter.

Harry watched as Dumbledore's face appeared next to Sirius'.

"He's dead," Dumbledore spoke in a low voice.

Harry watched the color drain from his godfather's face as he looked at Harry for some form of confirmation.

"He's back," Harry whispered, "Voldemort is back."

Sirius' eyes widened for a moment before a look of sheer anger took over his face.

"Harry let go of him," he heard Dumbledore say and he felt fingers trying to pry him from Cedric's body but Harry wouldn't let him go. "You can't help him now Harry. It's over. Let him go."

"He wanted me to bring him back," Harry muttered to Sirius as opposed to Dumbledore, "He wanted me to bring him back to his parents."

"You did well Harry…just let go now…"

It was at this moment that Harry realized that the stands full of people were no longer clapping and cheering. People were screaming and he could hear girls sobbing loudly.

Harry closed his eyes as he gripped Cedric tighter.

"Harry come now, you must-"

He heard Dumbeldore's voice but Sirius abruptly cut him off.

"Albus just stop."

He felt the comfort of his godfather's hand gently rub his back for a moment before he heard Sirius' voice whispering into his ear.

"Come on Pup."

Harry didn't respond and there was silence for a moment as he heard his godfather sigh and then stand up.

He felt his godfather's hands grip his forearms and gently Sirius pulled him away from Cedric, raised him from the ground and set him on his feet.

Harry looked up at his godfather who was staring down at him.

"Sirius…"

"Shh it's alright," Sirius hushed him using one arm to hug him to his side. "I'm taking him home," he said now in the direction of Dumbledore.

"The hospital wing may be a better bet Padfoot," Harry heard Remus' voice and wondered when he had joined them.

Sirius sighed in obvious frustration but nodded once in agreement with Remus, "And then home." He took a step towards the castle

"I'm not sure that taking him home is in the best interest of…" Dumbledore spoke but Sirius quickly cut him off.

"In the best interest of whom? Do you see my godson? He is covered in blood and can hardly walk and this is all your doing! You and this bloody barbaric tournament!"

Harry had been starring at the ground but his head quickly jerked up as he heard his godfather's words.

Harry looked at Sirius to see a look of anger on the man's face stronger than one he had even see in the past. Harry knew his godfather through, perhaps better than he even imagined he would, and he could see that under the anger Sirius' face was etched with worry.

"Sirius," Harry spoke.

"Quiet Harry!" Sirius spat the words causing Harry to blush slightly.

"Sirius I…" Dumbeldore began to speak.

"You have broken him!" Sirius yelled the words.

Harry's eyes quickly moved to his Headmaster's face. There was only way to describe what he saw there...complete sadness.

"Sirius," Remus spoke under his breath.

"No! I wanted him out of this tournament before it even began but he assured me he would be safe and so I gave in and look at what has happened! And now you're trying to tell me that it isn't in the best interest of Harry to get him away from this school…away from you?" Sirius chuckled in a cold sarcastic way. "Well excuse me Headmaster but I beg to differ."

Dumbledore nodded once and remained quiet, still looking quite hurt by the words Sirius had spoken.

Sirius took another step towards the castle, "Come on Harry."

Harry forced a smile, friendly smile in the direction of Dumbledore before he limped after his godfather.

The two were all of five feet away when Harry heard a blood curdling scream come from behind him. He quickly turned around to see a woman weeping over Cedric's body while a man who was obviously her husband touched her shoulder and cried quietly himself.

Harry stood and watched the scene for a moment before he felt his godfather's hand on his shoulder.

"I should go talk to them," Harry said in a voice that was near tears. "He wanted me to bring him back for them."

"There will be time to speak with them later right now I just want to get you away from this whole scene."

"Sirius…"

"Shh, let's get you to Madam Pomfrey."

In one quick motion Sirius swept his godson up in his arms and began walking towards the castle once more.

Harry wanted to protest...to demand to be put down so he could walk. After all he was twelve, far too old to be carried and especially across Hogwarts grounds and through the castle.

But he didn't have the energy to argue and in fact it felt quite nice to give his ankle a rest from being walked on, to feel safe in his godfather's arms. And honestly, no one was really paying attention to them anyway.

* * *

Thirty minutes later Harry was lying in a bed in the hospital wing. His ankle had been broken but Madam Pomfrey had easily fixed that as well as the deep gash in his arm.

He was bandaged up and resting until the potion she had just given him had a chance to fully do its job and completely relax his body as well as his mind.

Throughout the last twenty minutes or so, since they had entered the hospital wing, Sirius had sat quietly in a chair allowing Madam Pomfrey to repair his godson…but now Madam Pomfrey was gone.

Harry had been lying back on the pillow, his eyes closed trying to relax under Madam Pomfrey's orders but now he opened his eyes slightly and glanced at his godfather.

Sirius was sitting with his head in his hands, his long hair covering his face.

Softly Harry cleared his throat before he spoke. "Are you still mad at me?"

Sirius' head jerked up, his eyes were wet with tears that hadn't fallen and his face wore a look of complete confusion. "Mad at you? I was never mad at you Pup."

"Oh…I just thought…because you yelled at me…"

Sirius sighed softly running a hand through his long hair before he abandoned his chair and took the two steps to Harry's bed, depositing himself on the edge of it next to his godson's hand.

"I didn't mean to yell at you but I promise I am not angry with you at all." Sirius paused for a moment as he rubbed Harry's hand with his own. "I'm going to go pack your things alright? And when I get back we'll head home."

"But Sirius I…"

"Harry no," Sirius spoke softly as he shook his head, "I don't care what you will be missing, you are coming home today and you are staying there. That's the final word and no amount of arguing or poor behavior is going to change my mind."

Harry nodded once. He knew that look on his godfather's face, there was no point in trying to argue.

"Try and rest and I'll be right back okay?"

"Okay," Harry agreed.

Sirius returned less than ten minutes later and Harry couldn't help but wonder how he had managed to pack everything Harry had at Hogwarts that quickly.

Seconds later Sirius walked into the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey returned.

She quickly looked Harry over before speaking to Sirius.

"He appears to be good enough to go home, however I'd like to give you some Dreamless Sleep so that he actually gets some rest tonight. Merlin knows after what he's been through…" she trailed off sighing softly to herself.

"Thank you," Sirius smiled, "We would appreciate that."

Madam Pomfrey returned the smile before rushing off to retrieve the potion.

"Sirius…Snape is…"

Not now Pup, you're supposed to be trying to relax, we'll discuss it all later, I promise." Sirius abruptly cut him off.

Harry nodded silently as Madam Pomfrey returned handing a vile over to Sirius.

* * *

It felt like seconds later to Harry when he walked into Remus' office behind his godfather.

"Heading home then?" Remus asked. He was sitting behind his desk, looking completely exhausted.

"We are," Sirius nodded.

"Padfoot…Dumbledore is very adamant in his request to…"

"I don't give a bloody damn that he is adamant about. Harry will not be fulfilling his request tonight and that is my final word on the matter!"

"Very well," Remus nodded as Sirius picked up a handful of floo powder. He offered Harry the smallest of smiles and Harry forced one back in return as he and Sirius stepped into the fireplace.

"I'm going to make some supper and when it's done I'll bring some up to you," Sirius spoke the moment they stepped into the living room.

"I can come down and eat," Harry offered.

"No, I want you to go take a bath and then get into bed. You've been through far too much today, we're going to get some food into you and then you can take the potion."

Slowly Harry climbed the stairs to his bedroom. Upon entering the room he found his trunk at the end of his bed where it had sat all summer. He opened it to find it empty and quickly realized his godfather must have already unpacked for him.

Crossing the room to his dresser he opened a drawer to find his pajamas folded neatly. He pulled a pair out mentally noting that he would have to ask Sirius to teach him the spell that basically packed, moved, and unpacked his things in just a few moments.

Harry took quite a quick bath, he was actually glad Sirius had insisted on bringing him dinner, he was exhausted and he really wanted nothing more than to get into his bed and sleep for as long as he possibly could.

He was drying himself off when he heard the loud pop downstairs. Someone was there.

He stood quietly for a moment trying to hear who it could be but heard nothing and so he decided that it was probably Remus. It made sense, after all Sirius had been quite cross at him when they were leaving Hogwarts.

However moments later Harry heard his godfather's voice…or rather he heard muffled shouting from downstairs.

Quickly pulling on his pajamas, Harry ventured out of the bathroom and to the top of the stairs.

"I thought I made myself perfectly clear when you insisted on this nearly an hour ago," Sirius spoke loudly, "He is not speaking to you tonight and that is final!"

"Sirius I understand your concern but…"

"You understand my concern?" Sirius shouted. "Well that's new isn't it? You certainly didn't understand my concern when I didn't even want him to take place in this tournament!"

"Sirius please try to understand..."

"No you try and understand! I have a twelve year old upstairs that watched a murder take place today! A twelve year old that is in my care and as his guardian I am telling you that he will not be speaking to you about it!"

"Sirius," Harry spoke.

Harry hadn't even realized that his legs had been carrying him down the stairs and now both Sirius and Dumbledore had turned to look at him.

"Harry go to your room please," Sirius spoke.

Harry gave his godfather a disbelieving look. Had he really just sent him to his room? And in front of Dumbledore too?

"Sirius please," Dumbledore spoke softly, "If I thought for one moment that allowing Harry to sleep and postpone the moment where he will have to talk about all of this then I would leave….I would have never even come in the first place. But I know better. Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when he finally feels it."

"Harry I asked you to do something," Sirius spoke.

"He has shown bravery far beyond anything that was ever expected of him and I am asking him to demonstrate that courage once more and tell us what happened. I fear that if he keeps it bottled up for much longer the result will be a horrid one."

"I can do it Sirius," Harry spoke softly.

Sirius quickly crossed the room heading towards Harry and Harry immediately regretted his decision to stay instead of just going to his room as he had been told to do.

Sirius squatted down in front of his godson so that the two were face to face. He spoke in a quiet voice.

"I've asked you to please obey me Harry."

Harry's face blushed a deep red. Now he was being scolded in front of Dumbledore.

"I'm sorry," Harry muttered softly, "I really am but I'm going to have to tell someone eventually and I just want to get it over with."

Sirius kept silent for a moment and Harry was sure he was just going to tell him to go to his room once more or worse scold him again.

But his godfather surprised him when he nodded once. "Alright."

Slowly Sirius stood up and turned to face Dumbledore. "Against my better judgment Harry will tell us what happened."

**TBC...**


	68. Chapter 68

**Author's Note: Once again I apologize for taking so long to get this chapter up, I'm kinda failing at life these days but I will try to get the next one up either later this week or next week. Enjoy this chapter and as always thanks for all the positive feedback. And also if there are any typos in this chapter I apologize my microsoft word is in a 'mood' today and for some reason my spell check wasn't working correctly.**

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Nearly thirty minutes passed before Harry and Sirius joined Dumbledore in the living room. Sirius may have reluctantly agreed to allow Harry to relive the night's events but he was insistent that his godson eat some supper before doing so. Harry had opened his mouth to protest but the look Sirius had given him caused him to quickly shut it and retreat to the kitchen. He had also tried to rush through eating two or three times throughout his meal which caused his godfather to give him another dreaded look of silent scolding.

It wasn't that Harry wasn't hungry, he was starving actually. And it wasn't that he didn't appreciate Sirius insisting that he eat something, he was quite thankful for that. It was mainly that he was quite tired and he had a gut feeling that this talk with Dumbledore was going to take quite some time.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Sirius asked as Harry stood up and pushed his chair in.

Harry glanced up at his godfather to see the fear, anger, and worry that had taken over the man's face. He certainly didn't want to add to it but what other option did he have? After all it wasn't as if he could just pretend today didn't happen and never speak of it again.

Harry nodded. "Yeah I'm sure… I just want to get it all over with."

"Alright," Sirius replied in a hushed voice, "Then let's do this."

* * *

"Thank you for changing your mind on this matter Sirius," Dumbledore spoke as Harry sat down in his godfather's arm chair.

"Don't thank me, thank Harry…this is his doing, not mine."

Sirius was already beginning to pace the room and Harry was sure that by the time this was over his godfather would wear the carpet away completely.

"Harry," Dumbledore nodded slightly.

Harry gave his Headmaster a small smile.

"I would greatly appreciate if you could tell me everything that happened after you touched the Triwizard Cup and why Cedric was also with you, if you're aware of why he was that is."

Harry glanced at his godfather who was now leaning against the mantel obviously listening intensively.

"Well um Cedric was with me because we both reached the cup at the same time and we decided to grab it together and make it a tie…make it be a Hogwarts championship…make us both be the winners."

Harry noticed his godfather's slight smile at this news. The pride could clearly be seen on the man's face, it may have been hidden under the worry and anger, but it was still there and it caused a feeling of warmth to rise up in Harry.

"That was very noble of the both of you," Dumbledore nodded, a twinkle in his eye, "Continue Harry."

Harry took a deep breath and began to tell them. As he spoke, visions of everything that had happened flashed through his mind. He saw the sparkling surface of the potion that had revived Voldemort, the Death Eaters standing around him, Cedric's body lying on the ground.

A few times, Sirius made a noise as if he wanted to say something, but Dumbledore held up a hand to stop him and Harry was thankful for it. Now that he had started telling his story it was just easier to keep going and it almost felt good, as if he had been bitten by some poisonous animal and now the poison was being sucked back out of him. It was taking everything he had in him to keep his composure and continue talking but he had a feeling that once he was done, he would feel much better.

Harry gave a nervous glance in his godfather's direction before he told of Pettigrew piercing his arm with the dagger and with good reason as Sirius nearly exploded in anger.

Dumbledore however calmly approached Harry.

"May I see where he did this?"

Harry nodded as he pushed up his pajama sleeve. "It's all healed now, thanks to Madam Pomfrey."

Dumbledore carefully fingered the scar that was already starting to vanish from Harry's arm.

"Are you aware of why he did this?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry shrugged, "It was some spell…the blood of the one you couldn't kill or something like that…it was what brought Voldemort back."

"Indeed," Dumbledore nodded, "You have your mother's blood in you Harry…the blood that once protected you from death…that blood would make him stronger."

Harry glanced up at Sirius who was standing just behind Dumbledore and he saw the fear in his godfather's eyes. Dumbledore however appeared to be quite calm as he returned to his seat on the couch.

Harry glanced at Dumbledore once he was sitting and the man gave a simple nod urging Harry to continue.

Harry went on to explain how Voldemort has emerged from the cauldron, and told them all he could remember of Voldemort's speech. He wanted so badly to tell them what he head heard about Snape but he skipped over it purposely. He had a strong feeling that Dumbledore would not believe him and so he decided he would share that information with Sirius after Dumbledore left.

He tried hard to continue with his story but when he got to the part where he had heard Sirius' voice and then seen Cedric and his parents the memories flooding his mind became too much and he struggled to swallow the large lump that was forming in his throat.

"Our wands connected sorta, with a beam of light and I heard…I heard Sirius."

Sirius shot a look at Dumbledore before looking at his godson for some insight on the words that he had just spoken.

"I know it sounds dumb and it's impossible but it's like you were standing right behind me and you told me not to break the connection."

"It's not at all dumb," Dumbledore spoke kindly, "Sirius was guiding you although he was not there, that's what parents do."

Harry's eyes met Sirius' for the briefest of moments before he opened his mouth and continued to explain.

"And then Cedric came out of his wand and he told me to bring his body back with me and then I saw…I mean out of his wand came…they were…"

"You saw your parents tonight didn't you?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry nodded softly. He wanted badly to look at his godfather but he couldn't bring himself to do so, he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of guilt at the fact that he had seen them and Sirius hadn't.

Quickly Harry described how his father had promised him he would return to Sirius and how his mum had explained to him what needed to be done.

At this point, Harry found he could not continue. His eyes went to his godfather who was once again leaning against the mantel, his head hanging low so that his long hair covered his face, hiding any expression he might be wearing.

"I will say it again," Dumbledore spoke, "You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you tonight, Harry. You have shown bravery equal to those who have died fighting Voldemort at the height of his powers."

Harry opened his mouth to respond but his godfather beat him to it.

"He shouldn't have had to do any of that," Sirius spoke harshly, "He is a twelve year old boy Albus and I hardly think…"

"Perhaps he shouldn't have but this situation with Voldemort will not simply disappear Sirius, surely you realize and understand that. He is back and Harry…"

"Is a twelve year old child…**my **child and he will not be put in situations like this to appease you or anyone else."

Harry's eyes moved back and forth from Sirius to Dumbledore as the two of them spoke.

"It pains me to think that you honestly believe I knew that tonight's events would take place, that I would put Harry in such a situation on purpose," Dumbledore spoke in a hurt voice.

"You knew he was far too young to compete in this event and you knew his name was put into the goblet by someone else, someone who obviously wanted to put him in dangers way, are you honestly telling me that these thoughts never occurred to you?" Sirius' voice was raising now and although it wasn't quite a yell yet Harry knew it wouldn't be long before it was.

"I care about Harry very much Sirius, if I would have had even an inkling of an idea that what happened tonight…"

"If you would have had an inkling of an idea about anything concerning the bloody tournament you would have forbade him to compete from day one. He could have very well been injured or worse in every damn task he did!"

"I was not the one that put his name in the goblet but the rules state very clearly…"

"The rules are worth bloody shit!" Sirius yelled finally giving in to his frustration and anger.

Dumbledore opened his mouth to respond but before he could Sirius' eyes rested on Harry and he looked surprised to see his godson sitting there.

"Head on up to your room please Harry," Sirius spoke in a much calmer voice.

Harry couldn't help the face he made at his godfather's words.

"That's not fair, this all involves me. I want to know what's going on with Voldemort now and…"

"Now please," Sirius cut off his godson.

Harry knew that pushing his godfather at this moment was perhaps the stupidest thing he could do but he couldn't help himself.

"Sirius no," Harry responded stubbornly. Mentally aware that he had just sounded like a complete child.

He didn't know why he was arguing about his godfather's wishes. After all he was exhausted and his bed was exactly where he wanted to be but still this was the second time in one night that Sirius had sent him to his room in front of Dumbledore and for the second time in one night, Harry didn't think it was fair at all.

"_Harry James_," Sirius warned in a voice that sent shivers down Harry's spine and caused his face to blush several shades of red despite the fact that Dumbledore was focusing all of his attention on a book which had been sitting on the coffee table.

Harry stood and headed towards the stairs admitting defeat but throwing his godfather the most annoyed look he dared before doing so.

He stomped up the stairs, well aware of how childish his actions were but not really caring at the same time. If Sirius was going to treat him like a bloody toddler than he would act like one and with that thought in his head he slammed his bedroom door before flopping down on his stomach in his bed.

The potion that Madam Pomfrey had sent home with him was sitting in a small vile on his bedside table but he didn't drink it. He wasn't about to force sleep on himself when Sirius and Dumbledore were arguing so loudly just below him.

He couldn't really hear much aside from loud mumbles but he fully planned on listening for as long as he could manage to keep his eyes open.

Ten minutes passed…then thirty. And then without any warning at all of the conversation being over Harry heard the floo ignite and the loud muffled arguing ended.

Harry glanced at the potion knowing he should take it but debating getting out of bed and going to give his godfather a piece of his mind when he heard his bedroom door open slowly and saw the light from the hallway illuminate his bedside table.

"Still awake?" He heard Sirius' voice.

"Yeah," Harry replied making no effort to sit up or even roll over onto his back.

He heard Sirius sigh as he opened the bedroom door wider and walked into the room, depositing himself on the edge of Harry's bed.

"Didn't take the potion yet I presume?"

"Not yet," Harry admitted in a cold voice.

"And you are angry with me," Sirius said stating a fact, not asking a question.

"I don't like when you do things like that," Harry admitted.

For a reason he couldn't quite figure out, the moment Sirius had addressed his anger it had mostly disappeared.

"Sit up", Sirius requested, "Things like what?"

Harry rolled over onto his back before propping himself up on his elbows and giving his godfather a pointed look despite the darkness of the room and the fact that Sirius most likely couldn't see his face that well.

"You sent me to my room twice in front of Dumbledore and you got cross with me in front of him too."

"I scolded you because I asked you to do something and you didn't listen at all, you know better than that Harry" Sirius replied and although he didn't do so in a scolding tone Harry still couldn't help but to blush slightly.

"However," Sirius continued, "I am sorry if I embarrassed you, it certainly wasn't my intention."

"I hate when you send me to my room," Harry admitted as he pushed himself up to a full sitting position.

"I'm sorry you hate it Pup but you know I don't do it often and sometimes it is necessary, tonight was one of those times. The things that were being said downstairs were not meant for your ears to hear."

"But they concern me," Harry argued, "Everything you were talking about had to do with me!"

"That's very true," Sirius nodded, "However you are far too young to be concerned with every aspect of what is going on or what will go on. We have been over this before Harry you aren't to concern yourself with adult matters."

"Voldemort wants me," Harry replied in a softer tone, "He wants to kill me Sirius, he said so himself tonight."

"So am I supposed to just send you out into the street and allow him to do so?" Sirius asked. "You are my child Harry and it is my job to protect you in every way I can. I am well aware that at some point I won't be able to protect you from everything but that isn't going to happen anytime soon."

Harry couldn't make out his godfather's expression in the darkness of the room but he didn't have to he could tell from the heavy breathing, the pacing of his words, the serious voice…Sirius was hurting.

"You will most likely never fully understand how deeply sorry I am for ever having allowed you to compete in the tournament when it went against my better judgment but I promise you that nothing like this will ever happen again."

"It wasn't your fault," Harry said in a reassuring voice.

"Ah but it was Pup, perhaps not all of it but a large part of it was indeed."

"But Sirius…"

"Not tonight," Sirius cut his godson off, "I want you to take that potion and get some sleep, it is well after midnight already."

"But I'm not really that tired," Harry tried to lie.

"And the twins aren't really **that** mischievous," Sirius smiled softly. "To bed Pup and we'll speak about it all some more tomorrow."

"Okay," Harry agreed as he picked up the vile taking a small sip of the potion and making a horrific face at the taste of it.

"Drink all of it please."

"It tastes like old shorts," Harry replied.

"How in Merlin's name do you know what old shorts taste like?" Sirius smiled.

"You know what I mean!"

"I do but I still need you to drink all of it."

Harry sighed as he forced the rest of the thick liquid down his throat and then placed the vile back on his bedside table before removing his glasses and then falling back down onto his pillow.

"Thank you," Sirius said as he pulled the blanket up over Harry's arms.

"Thanks for not going mental on me when I wouldn't listen to you," Harry replied through a yawn.

"I do what I can," Sirius chuckled before leaning over and placing a kiss on his godson's forehead.

"Love you," Harry mumbled as his eyes began to close.

"I love you too Harry James Potter."

TBC...


	69. Chapter 69

**Author's Note: If you already saw the movie I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did when I saw it last night! I have a whole new respect for Emma Watson : ) **

**Enjoy this chapter and I promise I'll try and get the next one up as soon as I possibly can! Oh and if you celebrate Thanksgiving, have a happy one this week! And if you don't…have a happy Thursday this week!**

**Mira**

**

* * *

**

It was just after noon and Harry was still lying in his bed, the covers pulled up high enough to hide his face should his godfather glance in through the door, his body curled up in a ball.

He had been awake for hours, since nearly seven, but he couldn't bring himself to get out of bed. He just felt so mentally exhausted…so numb.

His brain had awoken first, much earlier than the potion was supposed to allow it to, and his first thought had been a hope and pray that the previous days events were all a dream. That he was still in his bed at Hogwarts, about to compete in the final task. Before he even opened his eyes he knew it was wishful thinking though. For starters he couldn't hear Ron snoring or Neville mumbling in his sleep and one quick brush on his hand on the sheets told him he was home in his own bed as his own sheets were flannel while his sheets at Hogwarts were not.

Before he even opened his eyes, he knew the day or rather days ahead were going to be absolutely dreadful.

He had heard Sirius get up about twenty minutes after his eyes had opened. He heard his bedroom door open a bit but he closed his eyes again before it had. Since then it had opened several more times but each time he had opted to pretend to be asleep. He wasn't ready for the questions or even the discussion. He couldn't deal with thinking about it all let alone talking about it. He didn't want to relive any of the previous day anymore than he had already had to.

Tracing the snitch pattern on his sheets with his thumb he sighed softly to himself. The amount of feelings that were brewing inside him were strong enough to make anyone go mental.

And there were still two and a half weeks of the school year left and he was going to miss every day of them. Of course the last time he had been taken from Hogwarts he had talked Sirius into letting him return but somehow he didn't think that would work this time around.

Not that he even really wanted to go back. The last thing he wanted was to deal with the stares and questions from the entire student body of Hogwarts but still it would be nice to be around Ron and Hermione….then again, maybe it wouldn't. After all, he had been avoiding his godfather for hours now and there was only one of him.

In the complete silence of his room he heard a noise downstairs that told him someone had just come through the floo but for once he didn't even care, he just hoped it was someone who would stay for a long time and distract Sirius from checking on him.

His eyes slowly made their way to his bedside table and landed on the picture of himself and his parents when he was just a baby. He had seen them the night before and he had hardly spoken and now in retrospect there was so much he wished he had said. But had he really seen them or was it like the mirror? Dumbledore had said the mirror wasn't real and that there was no way to bring back the dead but last night it felt real, and they had spoken to him, they had never spoke through the mirror.

* * *

Remus sighed as he sat across the kitchen table from his best mate. Sirius looked a wreck. His eyes bloodshot from getting hardly any sleep, his head rested on the palm of his left hand as his elbow leaned on the wooden table forcing his long hair to cover half his face.

"It isn't your fault Padfoot…no one could have predicted that such a thing would happen."

"It's my job to protect him…I let him down," Sirius spoke the words in a low voice.

"All parents make mistakes," Remus tried, "Show me one perfect parent's who never has."

"Perhaps they do…small mistakes…this was not a small mistake."

"There is a child upstairs that needs you Sirius," Remus went for a different approach, "You can't allow Harry to see how much you are hurting over this…not when he is probably already feeling enough hurt for the two of you and more."

The only response was Sirius' soft sigh.

"You have to keep it together Padfoot, for Harry's sake."

"Harry doesn't want to talk about it," Sirius replied softly.

"What makes you say that? I thought you said last night he wanted to speak with you more after Dumbledore left?"

"He did but I made him go to bed."

"He was probably past exhausted," Remus replied, "You were most likely right in making him get some sleep."

"I know I was," Sirius agreed.

"So then today when he wakes I'm sure he'll want to talk to you."

"He is awake," Sirius said.

"I thought you said…"

"He's been awake for hours now, he is only pretending to be asleep," Sirius cut him off, "I can tell by his breathing…he has been awake since before I was…in fact if I didn't see him drink his potion last night I would think he never did."

"And don't you think it would be wise to go talk to him?" Remus asked a confused look on his face.

"I do," Sirius agreed, "But I also think it is wise to give him some time. I can't even imagine the thoughts running through his head, or what he is feeling and obviously if he is still in bed at almost one in the afternoon he wants to be alone for a bit and so I'll allow him that."

* * *

Harry's eyes slowly opened.

It took him a moment to realize that he must have really dozed off for awhile. A quick glance at the clock on his bedroom wall told him that it was now nearly three in the afternoon.

A small part of him felt immensely guilty for still being in bed at this time of day but he didn't feel nearly guilty enough to do anything about it. He was also slightly curious as to why his godfather hadn't tried to wake him yet but the feeling of being thankful for that overrode the curiosity.

If the tournament had never happened and if he was at Hogwarts he would probably be sitting in either the common room or the library with Ron and Hermione right now studying for final exams or if not doing that than he and Ron would have probably been visiting with Hagrid and avoiding Hermione and her brutal studying schedule.

He half smiled at the thought but it quickly vanished as the memories from the previous day flooded his mind.

There was a chance he'd never return to Hogwarts.

The dreadful thought took over his mind as he sighed a heavy sigh. He couldn't let that happen, he just couldn't.

He rolled over onto his other side, careful to pull the heavy quilt up high enough to hide his face once more when he heard footsteps on the stairs.

Quickly Harry shut his eyes careful to make them look natural and not as if he was shutting them too tightly.

Every time Sirius had checked on him throughout the morning he had pushed the door open a bit, peaked in, and then gently shut the door before venturing back downstairs.

This time however, was different.

Harry heard his bedroom door push open but he never heard it shut.

He fought the idea to open his eyes ever so slightly and try and see what Sirius was doing.

And then he didn't have to fight it anymore…he felt Sirius sit on the edge of the bed and he knew.

Still, he didn't open his eyes or give any other indication that he was awake.

He heard Sirius clear his throat.

"I know you're awake Harry…I know you've been awake since before I was even. If you want to stay in bed all day that's perfectly fine and I'll bring you up some lunch as well as some supper later."

Sirius cleared his throat once more.

"I can't even begin to know how hard yesterday was on you or what you are feeling exactly so I won't offend you by pretending that I do. I'm also not going to force you to talk to me about any of it. If you don't want to talk then I respect that and I certainly won't blame you nor will I be upset with you about it. But if you want to talk I need you to understand that I'm here. I love you Harry James Potter and I'm always here. So I'm going to go down and make you some lunch now because regardless of how you feel you need to eat and if you want to come downstairs feel free to do so and if you don't…well that's okay too Pup."

Harry felt Sirius gently touch his leg before his weight exited the bed and Harry knew his godfather was heading for the door.

Harry opened his eyes, thankful for the thick quilt which was still hiding his face from being seen.

"Sirius," he said softly.

He wanted to talk to his godfather…he needed to. But he was still half hoping that he had spoken too softly for Sirius to even hear him.

"Hmm?" Sirius answered just as softly.

"Do you," Harry spoke softly before clearing his throat and speaking up a bit, "Do you think I really saw them or was it just their ghosts or spirits or whatever."

"I think that if they seemed real to you then that's all that matters," Sirius answered.

Harry pondered this for a moment as a large lump formed in his throat.

He didn't want to talk about this but he knew if he didn't the feeling would never go away and if he couldn't talk to Sirius about it who in Merlin's name could he talk to?

"I didn't even say anything," Harry croaked as the large lump in his throat won the battle he was having trying to swallow it down.

"Oh Pup," Sirius said softly as he returned to his spot on the bed, his hand immediately going back to his godson's leg.

Sirius wanted nothing more than to pull Harry out from under the mound of covers and into his arms but the boy did just spend nearly nine hours pretending to be asleep in order to avoid this very conversation and the last thing Sirius wanted to do was push too hard so he would settle for a hand on his godson's knee.

"They talked to me and I hardly even talked back," Harry continued, "And there…there was so much I wanted to say."

Sirius gently moved his fingers back and forth, rubbing his godson's knee.

"You don't need to see them to speak with them Pup, you can talk to them anytime you like, they're all around you," Sirius said softly, "I speak to your dad quite frequently actually."

"But he can't answer you."

"Not the way you would, no," Sirius shook his head sadly, "But in his own ways he does."

Harry was quite.

Sirius fought back his urge to let a tear fall and instead forced his voice to sound as it normally would.

"You know every time something happens with you I think of your parents and what they would do and I promise you Harry they guide me every time."

"I'm sorry," Harry said softly.

"What on earth for?" Sirius asked honestly confused by his godson's apology.

"I got to see them and you didn't," Harry said as the tears continued to silently fall, "You were his best friend, you knew him better than me and you didn't get to, I did."

"Oh Harry," Sirius replied in a sad voice, "Come here Pup."

Sirius watched as the bed covers moved and his godson popped out from under them, his hair and unruly mess, his face stained with tears which were still falling.

Harry crawled across his bed and sat next to his godfather only to have Sirius pull him into a tight hug.

"Never, ever, ever be sorry for something like that," Sirius said softly, "Never, got it?"

Harry nodded into his godfather's chest.

"They loved you so much Pup, so much."

"I know," Harry nodded once more.

The two stayed embraced in the hug for several long moments before Harry pulled away from his godfather, wiping random stray tears off of his face with the back of his hand.

"I got your shirt all wet," Harry said softly.

Sirius shrugged at this remark, "It'll dry."

Harry was quite for a long moment before he swallowed hard as he swallowed hard, there was so much more he had to get out and he certainly wasn't going to be a blubbering baby with every word he said.

"I'm sorry I was such a prat about this whole tournament from the start, I should have listened to you from the start when you said I couldn't do it."

"Hey now," Sirius replied, "No more apologies. That wasn't your fault either you know Pup. I am in charge around here believe it or not." Sirius gave his godson a smile, "And I could have laid down the law, so to speak, and made no my final answer."

"But I was a git to you every time you said no I forced you to say yes."

"I love you very much Harry but I promise you if I truly hadn't felt it okay for you to compete I would have never allowed you to do so regardless of how you acted."

Harry wasn't sure he believed that but he nodded anyway.

"Sirius?"

"Hmm?"

"About Hogwarts…do I really have to stay home?"

Sirius sighed softly before answering and when he did so he answered in a soft, gentle tone. "I'm sorry Pup but you really do…after Vold…after what happened I just don't feel comfortable sending you back there this year."

"But Ron and Hermione…"

"Are more than welcome to come visit anytime they like and when they are back home you are allowed to go visit them but you're home for the summer at least."

Harry nodded. He wasn't thrilled with the idea but he didn't hate it either. Regardless he certainly wasn't going to argue about it.

"Cedric's parents," he said softly, "I have to explain things to them."

"I'm sure Dumbledore relayed the story for them," Sirius said, "And as much as I am sure they would love to speak with you they probably need some time alone right now Pup."

Harry nodded once more.

"It was very noble of you to do that for them Harry and I am sure they are very thankful to you for your actions," Sirius said as he ruffled his godson's hair affectionately.

"I just did what he asked me to do," Harry shrugged as his stomach made a loud noise.

"Hungry?" Sirius smiled a small smile.

"A little," Harry admitted.

"I'm going to go make you some lunch," Sirius announced before giving his godson a quick kiss on the forehead and then standing up, "Am I bringing it up here or…"

"I'll come down and eat," Harry nodded, "I just want to get dressed first."

"Alright then, I'll meet you in the kitchen."

**TBC...**


	70. Chapter 70

Lunch had been quite the quiet affair. Harry had eaten everything his godfather placed in front of him which pleased Sirius immensely, in his opinion his godson was already far too small of a boy to be skipping meals, regardless of the reason for doing so. However, his godson had hardly said two words throughout the meal.

When Harry had appeared in the kitchen Sirius immediately noticed that the child's eyes were still red and bloodshot from his heavy crying and his face was still blotchy from Harry's lack of gentleness when brushing his tears away. A task that Sirius always had some trouble understanding.

Of course Sirius could remember being Harry's age and the embarrassment that came with crying at that age, no matter what the cause of the tears was…he understood that. Still, he had a hard time with the fact that his godson was obviously embarrassed when he cried in front of him…Sirius didn't want Harry to ever feel embarrassed by anything in front of him.

But embarrassed Harry was. When he entered the kitchen and Sirius stole a quick glance at his tear stained face Harry blushed slightly before dropping his head down as he took his seat.

Throughout the meal Sirius tried to start several conversations ranging from possible summer plans to picking a weekend to invite both Ron and Hermione to visit but aside from a couple nods and a few mumbles, Harry didn't speak at all.

His godson's silence worried Sirius. He was well aware that they had hardly scratched the surface in dealing with the events that had happened. After all his godson had been through a horrific experience and a quick talk wasn't going to fix it all. Still…Harry had seemed to be feeling better after the talk they had had not even thirty minutes prior and now it was if that talk never even took place. If possible, his godson looked more upset than he had before they talked.

So after the failed attempts at starting conversations Sirius ate in silence praying silently that he hadn't in fact made the situation ten times worse by venturing up to his godson's room and persuading him to talk about it all. Not that he had really persuaded him exactly…still in the deep silence of the kitchen it certainly felt like he had. It felt like he had forced Harry out of bed, forced him to relive the upsetting events, and forced him to talk about it all.

Sirius sighed softly completely lost as far as what to do now. He had promised himself from the moment he brought Harry home that he was not going to force his godson to talk about anything but still he couldn't just ignore it could he?

When lunch ended Sirius half expected Harry to retreat back up to his room so when Harry headed for the living room instead it was a surprise to say the least.

After quickly cleaning the kitchen up, Sirius joined his godson who was sitting on the couch sideways, his face pressed on the back cushions, his knees brought up to his chest.

Sirius resisted the urge to ask him if he was alright. After all it was obvious he wasn't and the reasons surrounding his sadness were obvious as well. If Harry wanted to talk he knew he could and Sirius wasn't going to force him to do so.

Instead Sirius sat in his armchair, picked up the newspaper and pretended to be engrossed in an article about the Ministry.

Nearly twenty minutes went by of complete silence before Sirius heard his godson's voice.

"Sirius," Harry said softly, "I have to tell you something."

Immediately Sirius let the paper fall onto his lap giving his godson his full attention.

"You might be mad at me," Harry warned him, his voice still soft, almost a whisper.

"What in Merlin's name for?"

Sirius' voice came out quite calm.

"There's some stuff I haven't told you…stuff that happened in the graveyard…I didn't really mean not to tell you, I just didn't want to say it in front of Dumbledore and then when he left I had to go to bed and then today…"

"What is it Pup?" Sirius abruptly cut him off making sure his voice still sounded as calm as he could possibly make it sound.

After all he wasn't cross that there was something he hadn't been told nor did he think for even a moment that anything that could have happened in that graveyard would result in his becoming cross.

"From the moment I got there until after I left…until I was in the hospital wing I think…my scar really hurt, like it was burning," Harry said softly.

A million reasons as to why this was happening flashed through Sirius' head and he wanted nothing more than to take Harry to St. Mungo's immediately and demand that someone tell him exactly why it had hurt him and fix it so that this would never occur again but he knew how ridiculous that idea was. After all, his godson was the only one with such a scar and as a result even those trained in healing probably knew very little about it. Still, this was something he needed to bring up at the next Order meeting. Perhaps someone would have an answer. Of course he knew who exactly that someone would be but there was no way he was going to rush off to Dumbledore with this issue…just no way. Not after the previous night.

In all of Sirius' thought, it took him a few moments to notice that Harry was sitting on the couch looking as if he was about to be scolded at any moment.

"I'm not mad," Sirius spoke, "Just thinking."

"There's more," Harry replied.

Sirius raised an eyebrow in his godson's direction beckoning him to continue.

"Snape was setting me up the whole time…he put my name in the goblet."

"Pardon?" Sirius asked sure he must have heard the boy wrong.

"Snape did it. When all the other's showed up Voldemort said someone was missing and that that someone was at Hogwarts and that they were the reason I was even there…that they got me there," Harry explained, "And it was Snape, it had to be, who else would it be?"

"Well I'm not sure but I'm not sure it was Snape either," Sirius answered honestly.

"He hates me, he always has and he was the one who helped me kinda…he let me keep the gillyweed and he is never that nice to me plus he was the one that suggested I use my broom back in the first task," Harry explained.

Unlike when he normally tried to convince someone of something he wasn't becoming frustrated and his voice wasn't rising at all. He was actually kind of exhausted…mentally and physically way too tired to argue and he almost wished he had never started this conversation in the first place.

"He may be hard on you at times, I'm not saying he isn't but I don't honestly think he would try to kill you Harry. He is a member of the Order and Dumbledore trusts him."

Harry thought about arguing that Dumbledore had also trusted that Harry would be safe in the tournament and he hadn't been. And besides, wasn't Sirius mad at Dumbledore, last night he was furious…far angrier than Harry had ever seen him and now he was trusting his judgment? And just who else at Hogwarts could it have possibly been? Harry doubted very much that McGonagall or Professor Flitwick had slipped his name into the goblet.

There was so much he wanted to say but instead he just shrugged. He honestly didn't even care enough to argue.

"Can I go back to bed?" Harry asked.

Sirius frowned in his godson's direction. "Are you okay?"

Harry nodded once as he pulled himself from the couch. "I'm just really tired."

The frown didn't leave Sirius' face but he nodded despite it. "I'll wake you for supper."

"Okay," Harry agreed as he headed for the stairs.

* * *

Once in his room Harry collapsed onto his bed in his jeans and sweat shirt, not bothering to change into something more comfortable.

He wasn't even sure he would sleep he just knew he couldn't stand another moment of talking about what had happened and he knew that his frustration with it all didn't even make sense considering he had been the one to bring it up in the first place.

He sighed as his head hit his pillow.

He was tired, it wasn't a lie but ever time he closed his eyes the events re-played in his mind which was unfortunate because all he really wanted to do was sleep until it all blew over so he could wake up and pretend like it never even happened.

He couldn't get it out of his head though…the look on Voldemort's face when he tried to kill him, Pettigrew's beady little eyes when he pulled the dagger through his skin, Cedric's eyes while he lied sprawled out on the ground cold with death…his parent's voices.

Harry sighed once more as he blinked back his tears silently scolding himself to buck up and stop with all the crying.

He pushed up his shirt sleeve and ran his thumb across the area where the blade had cut. The scar was all but gone now, just a little line remained. Dumbledore had said that they had wanted his blood because his mother's blood was in him. It was a comforting thought.

Since he had come to live with Sirius he hadn't missed his parents in the same way he always had. Of course they were always there, in the back of his mind but it wasn't as painful as it had been when he lived with the Dursleys…he had Sirius now; he had someone who cared about him like a parent would. Seeing them in the graveyard though had changed the way he missed them all over again…they had been too real to him to ever be able to forget their voices their appearances, or even the way they walked.

The hot tear rolled down his cheek and Harry quickly brushed it off.

* * *

Sirius sat in the living room, once again holding up the Daily Prophet as if he were actually reading it.

Could it really have been Snape?

He wanted nothing more than to floo himself over to Hogwarts and give Dumbledore a piece of his mind once more about this whole situation but he couldn't do that…there was no way after what happened that he was leaving his godson home alone.

As if he could read his thoughts the fire roared to life and Remus stepped through.

"Bad time?" Remus asked in a concerned voice.

"Not at all," Sirius shook his head, "Harry is sleeping."

"Sleeping or still faking?"

"Sleeping I think," Sirius nodded dropping the paper once more, "We spoke some and he was exhausted so he went back to bed for a few hours."

Remus sighed softly, "How is he holding up?"

"He's…he'll be alright," Sirius said the words trying to convince himself as well as his mate.

Remus gave a small smile at these words. "Of course he will."

"He had some interesting information however," Sirius cleared his throat, "He says Voldemort made it a point to tell him that someone was missing in the graveyard, someone who was responsible for getting Harry there, someone who was at Hogwarts."

Remus' raised an eyebrow at these words.

"Harry thinks it was Snape."

"Padfoot I'm not sure I think…"

"I think I agree with you," Sirius cut him off, "Snape is many things but I can't see him being a murderer…especially not to a twelve year old child, James' son or not…still I'm not sure what other teacher at Hogwarts it could be."

"Perhaps Dumbledore would have some insight on…"

"I should be there right now, I know but I didn't want to leave him here alone and I wasn't about to drag him through Hogwarts…that's the last place he needs to be," Sirius cut Remus off once more.

"Still no hope of Harry returning to the classroom this year?"

"Absolutely not. He nearly died Remus…I can't…no, he is not going back."

Remus didn't miss the misty look Sirius got in his eyes as he spoke these words and he quickly looked away allowing his friend a moment to blink the tears away discretely.

"You know," Remus changed the subject, "I'm done with classes for the day…if you wanted to go and speak with Dumbledore I'd be happy to stay here in case Harry wakes."

"I need to start making him supper soon…he's already been asleep for over an hour. I was going to wake him, have him eat and then let him go back to sleep."

"I perfectly capable of making supper for Harry," Remus smiled.

Sirius sighed softly nodding. "If he wakes…"

"I'll explain to him where you are and feed him."

"Thanks Moony." Sirius replied as he stood up heading for the fireplace.

* * *

Harry hadn't slept even a wink since he had collapsed onto his bed. He had tossed and turned endlessly, he had counted the stars on his ceiling that had been put there by a spell Sirius had done over Christmas break, he had thought about getting up and writing Ron and Hermione a letter explaining his disappearance, he had counted the teeth in his mouth using his tongue as a pointer of sorts, he had debated getting up and getting a magazine to read, and he had tossed and turned some more…but he hadn't slept.

Finally after almost two hours he smelled supper. He figured sleeping was out of the question, Sirius would be waking him up shortly any way to eat.

Sighing in frustration over his exhaustion Harry swung his legs off the side of his bed and headed downstairs.

As he walked down the hallway towards the kitchen he heard someone humming to themselves and instantly knew it wasn't Sirius in the kitchen.

He walked in slowly to find Remus standing over the counter, his wand pointed at a plate of chicken which appeared to be cooking by magic.

"Remus?" Harry asked in a soft voice.

"Ah Harry!" Remus turned around a wide smile on his face, "Dinner will be finished in a moment, have a seat."

Harry slid into his seat pleased to see a large glass of pumpkin juice in front of his plate.

"Where's Sirius?" He asked after taking a long drink.

"At Hogwarts speaking with Professor Dumbledore."

Harry nodded as Remus set dished his supper onto his plate.

Silently Harry picked up his fork and began eating.

Remus starred at Harry or rather his head of dark hair considering Harry was hunched over eating. No questions about why Sirius was speaking with Dumbledore? No curiosity at all? No begging to know the details or even begging to be taken to Hogwarts so he could see and hear things for himself? No…this was definitely not the Harry that Remus knew and loved.

"How is it?" Remus asked as he picked up his own fork.

"Good," Harry replied in a soft voice.

"And how was your nap?" Remus asked.

"Fine."

Harry hadn't stopped eating nor had he even looked up from his plate to answer. Remus frowned at the boy's head. Of course Remus had been concerned about Harry from the moment the boy's body slammed into the ground after the last task but he had no idea how bad things really were until this moment.

"You're awful quiet tonight," Remus tried.

Harry shrugged as he lifted his head for the briefest of moments to drink some pumpkin juice.

Remus cleared his throat hoping a different approach would work. "I spoke with Ron and Hermione earlier today, they stopped by to make sure you were okay and I assured them you were."

Harry nodded as he picked up his fork and began to eat again.

"They were very concerned of course…I know Sirius is adamant that you stay home but I'm sure he would allow them to visit this weekend."

Once more Harry nodded.

Remus sighed; he doubted very much that Harry was even listening to him.

"Perhaps Sirius would ever allow the three of you to go stay in Hogsmeade for the weekend by yourselves, rent a room at The Leaky Cauldron."

Silence and a nod.

Just as he suspected, the boy wasn't listening at all.

Giving up Remus began to eat once more.

Five long minutes passed before Harry stood up and carried his dirty dishes to the sink and began washing them.

"You can leave them Harry, I'll get them," Remus offered.

But Harry continued cleaning them as if he didn't even hear the man and moments later he placed the clean dishes on the towel next to the sink to dry.

"I'm going to go back to bed," Harry announced as he turned and headed out of the kitchen.

"I was going to make some tea, care to join me?"

"No thank you," Harry said softly as he exited the room.

Sighing Remus dropped his fork on the plate. Yes, things were far worse than he had ever expected.

* * *

Nearly an hour later Sirius returned home to find the house silent, Remus sitting in the living room starring into space.

"Everything alright here? How's Harry?"

Remus sighed as he sat up a little straighter. "Harry woke, ate some supper, and went right back to bed."

Sirius sighed as he collapsed into his armchair. "I suspected he would…I really thought that after we spoke things were at least a little better but perhaps this is going to take a bit longer to fix."

Remus nodded softly at a loss for words.

"Dumbledore feels exactly as we suspected him to however he is going to conduct a thorough investigation with the entire staff of Hogwarts."

Once more Remus nodded.

"Thank you for watching him Moony but I think I best go make certain he is sleeping now and if he isn't I think I need to speak with him a bit."

* * *

When Sirius entered Harry's room he immediately noted that his godson was in fact sleeping. Harry was still wearing his jeans and sweatshirt, the lights in his room were still on, and he was sprawled out on top of the covers…but he was asleep.

Silently Sirius summoned an extra blanket from the hall closet and covered his godson with it before he shut the lights out.

His hand ruffled the unruly mess of hair atop his godson's head as he noticed Harry's tear stained cheeks. Clearly his godson had been crying once more tonight.

His hand made its way down Harry's head to his back and he rubbed it gently as Sirius' eyes flipped with tears.

Not having the energy to fight it, one single hot tear fell from his eye as Sirius kept his hand on Harry's back, feeling it rise and fall with each deep breath he took.

It still amazed him that after years of wondering about the boy, Harry was now his.

He smiled softly as he thought back to the early days of the summer…they had come quite a way from the days of Harry's temper filled outbursts and Sirius' yelling rebuttals.

And Harry was home safe tonight. Once again he had come close to death but he was home and he was safe and in the end that was all that really mattered.

The End

**Author's Note: Thank you so much to all of you who read and reviewed or favorited (not a word I know) this story. Already working on the first chapter of the sequel so hopefully some of you will stick around for that : ) Thank you once more!**

**Miranda**


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